A PIONEERING aircraft created by a 3D printer in Southampton has been successfully launched from a warship.

HMS Mersey, sitting off the Dorset coast, provided the take-off platform for the University of Southampton’s SULSA unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Weighing 3kg with a wingspan of 1.5m, the nylon airframe was created on a 3D printer.

It was catapulted off HMS Mersey and flew roughly 500 metres before landing on Chesil Beach.

The university claims the short flight demonstrated the potential of small lightweight UAVs, which can be easily launched at sea.

The SULSA comes in parts and can be assembled without tools.

The aircraft carried a small video camera to record its flight and Southampton researchers monitored its progress from a control van.

Professor Andy Keane, from Engineering and the Environment at the university, says: “The key to increased use of UAVs is the simple production of low cost and rugged airframes – we believe our pioneering use of 3D printed nylon has advanced design thinking in the UAV community world-wide.”

The UAV being trialled has a cruise speed of 50kts (58mph) but can fly almost silently.

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir George Zambellas has championed the Navy’s involvement with the project.

Admiral Zambellas, who studied aeronautics at Southampton University, said: “Radical advances in capability often start with small steps. The launch of a 3D-printed aircraft from HMS Mersey is a small glimpse into the innovation and forward thinking that is now embedded in our Navy’s approach. “It’s well known that our first squadron of remotely piloted aircraft have proven their worth in the Gulf, providing persistent airborne surveillance across huge areas of sea.

The admiral said the trial illustrated how simple, automated systems had the potential to replace complex machines.We are after more and greater capability in this field which delivers huge value for money. And, because it’s new technology, with young people behind it, we’re having fun doing it.”