Modern Chinese and Turkish drone-carrier claims have a precedent in uncrewed naval aviation. HMS Argus carried Queen Bee radio-controlled target aircraft in 1939 so the Royal Navy could train its air defences. The service also considered weaponizing such aircraft, apparently deciding against it. An alternative development is imagined in which carriers take squadrons of explosive-laden Tiger Moths or other adapted aircraft to sea from about 1940, with crewed aircraft directing them toward targets. Such a development could have changed wartime carrier doctrine, but those carrier squadrons remain a counterfactual.
Notable Point · 1:00:18-1:01:38
HMS Argus and the drone-carrier precedent
Modern drone-carrier claims have a prewar precedent in HMS Argus, which carried Queen Bee target aircraft and prompted limited thought about weaponized remote-control missions.