Heavy-lift Hydra drone being armed with laser-guided Brimstone missile

The Hydra 400, a new-generation heavy lift drone, could see itself taking on a ground attack role as the Army looks for ways to weaponise its drone fleet.

Drones can potentially carry out similar ground attack missions to the Apache helicopter, while being far less costly and more numerous.

The Hydra is one of the drones that military officials are considering.

• Jackal drone used to launch Martlet missiles for first time during trials
• Has Ukraine used British missile the UK Armed Forces has only just accessed?
• Brimstone 2: The laser-guided missile system UK is providing to Ukraine

It can take a payload weighing up to 400kg, which would normally include supplies like ammunition and fuel, but its carrying capacity also paves the way for it being armed with missiles like the Brimstone.

The missile is now being integrated onto the UAV and flight trials are imminent.

The Hydra 400 was recently displayed with a Brimstone payload at the British Army's stand at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition.

The drone is set to be put to the test during the British Army's Army Warfighting Experiment which sees troops trial future battlefield technology.

Dr Stephen Prior, of Hybrid Drones, which makes the Hydra, said: "We started off with water, ammunition and fuel, could we extract a wounded soldier from the front to a hospital facility?

"As the payloads grew bigger and bigger, we were capable of carrying a launching munition.

"We started that conversation about would it be possible to put Brimstone on Hydra."

The Hydra drone uses advanced AI-powered sensors to operate in GPS-denied environments.

Under its own power, the drone can carry out a fully autonomous supply drop without human input.

The machine is a pioneering new-generation drone and uses hybrid propulsion technology.

Due to their small size, and when folded, three Hydras can fit inside the Army's new Boxer armoured vehicle.

The Brimstone missile weighs 50kg, is 1.8m long and has a diameter of 180mm.

The missile is said to be battle-proven with a 98% success rate in defeating static and moving targets.

Major Matthew McGarvey-Miles, the Army's warfighting experiment lead, said at the DSEI exhibition: "We're looking at how we can weaponise drones for the future.

"Noting what is currently going on in Ukraine... we're going to be working with the regulatory authority in order to understand how we can get something like this as a capability in the future."