A heavy-lift drone capable of carrying a torpedo

Someday in the future, the latest anti-submarine weapon could arrive in the form of a torpedo deployed from a large drone. A result of a partnership between British defense giant BAE and drone firm Malloy Aeronautics, the T-650 is an all-electric heavy-lift drone. Its payloads will include everything from battlefield resupply to torpedoes launched at submarines.

The T-650 debuted at the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition as a mock-up suspended in the air with a BAE-made Sting Ray torpedo attached. The torpedo, in service since the 1980s, can already be fired from ships, helicopters, and planes, where it uses sonar and navigation systems to autonomously track and hit targets. Putting it on a drone expands the range at which a ship can hunt submarines, and it also means that smaller vessels have a flexible way to fight that takes up only a minimum of deck space.