A new drone system called JACKAL, developed by UK-based Flyby Technology and Turkish partners FlyBVLOS Technology and Maxwell Innovations, has completed the first trial firing of the Thales Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM).
The Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) of the Royal Air Force sponsored the trial, which took place in October 2022.
“Following the invasion of Ukraine, Flyby Technology was asked to brief the RAF’s Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) on their new drone system,” Thales explained in a press release published on April 17, 2023. “Flyby Technology planned and built two operational aircraft from scratch and fired two LMMs in the demanding timescale of six weeks.”
Flyby wants to market its JACKAL drone system to nations in need of an affordable alternative to attack helicopters or jets. The drone can take off and land vertically and features a modular architecture to change its payload depending on the mission.
The Thales Lightweight Multirole Missile is also known as the Martlet missile within the Royal Air Force. Its design allows it to be launched against a wide range of targets from various naval, air, and land platforms.
The missile experienced its baptism of fire in Ukraine. It was used both from MANPADS and from the Stormer HVM short-range air defense system to destroy Russian air targets.