Drone on board!
Britain’s new £3bn aircraft carrier bristles with technology... but an enthusiast flew in a drone unchallenged and even landed it on the flightdeck
IT IS the state-of-the-art £3billion aircraft carrier which is supposed to bolster British security.
But astonishingly an amateur pilot was able to land his drone on HMS Queen Elizabeth’s deck without raising any alarm bells at all.
The pilot zoomed his device past armed police patrol boats and dropped unchallenged on to the four-acre deck of the warship. When she is ready for active duty the carrier, nicknamed Big Lizzie, will be the Navy’s most advanced vessel.
But the drone’s landing may now be discussed in Scotland’s parliament after the apparent security problems the man unwittingly exposed.
Lord West, a former First Sea Lord, said it was worrying because Islamic State is already using drones in the Middle East to launch bombs. And one member of the Scottish parliament called it an ‘astonishing tale’, adding: ‘There is a serious question about security for the Royal Navy.’
Concerned about the flight on to HMS Queen Elizabeth, the drone’s pilot later approached security personnel – but claimed no one was concerned that he had touched down.
He added: ‘I was amazed. There was no one about to prevent it from landing. There was absolutely no one around when I landed, it was like a ghost ship. There were security police around in small boats who were waving at the drone.
‘But it is worth a lot of money and I suppose I could have been [from the] Taliban or anything.’ After taking off again from the aircraft carrier, the pilot flew the drone back to Newhall Point, just north of Inverness, from where it had taken off. The unmanned
‘No one seemed too concerned’
aircraft was a £300 Parrot Bebop drone, which weighs 400g and is described as ‘lightweight but robust’. It has four blades and has a 14-megapixel high-definition camera.
Lord West said the drone pilot should be prosecuted as there are strict laws about flying in a carrier’s airspace.
He said: ‘ Daesh [Islamic State] are already using drones to deliver bombs in Syria, so I think it is something we need to take very seriously.
‘The fact drones can reach it is a worry. The Queen Elizabeth is doing some work with helicopters and if a drone hits a helicopter that could be very dangerous.
‘We need to have harsher punishments if you fly a drone into a carrier’s air space. There’s a real risk from drones and [it’s] something we need to take very seriously.’
Explaining why he landed on the ship, the pilot, who was not named, said: ‘I received a high wind warning as I was videoing up and down the flight deck and my control system advised me to land. I was able to touch down OK and took a couple of [camera] shots.
‘After I posted the picture taken from the flight deck I got some flak from other drone users, who were saying, “You are going to make a lot of people unhappy”.
‘I thought the only law I had broken was that I flew over a vessel I didn’t have control over.
‘I was a bit concerned so I drove round to Invergordon [where the ship was docked north of Newhall Point] and spoke to the port security and explained that I wanted to speak to someone from the ship. I was only able to speak to some heavily armed police, I think from the MoD, and they said there was no one available on the carrier as they were at dinner ashore.
‘No one seemed too concerned, but the officer I spoke to said he would pass it up the chain of command.
‘I think if the MoD was in any way bothered by this then these videos and stills would not have been allowed to see the light of day.’
Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Stone said he was concerned at the security implications and would consider tabling a question in the Scottish Parliament about it.
He said: ‘I think the moral of this astonishing tale is that there is a serious question about security for the Royal Navy for it would have been quite easy for someone of evil intent to do something quite serious. Even a drone crashing into its radar could cause damage.’
As HMS Queen Elizabeth is currently on sea trials it is not yet under Royal Navy control. A spokesman for defence specialists BAE said they would investigate the pilot’s claims.