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Actually, the US already has those. They are sailing logistic hubs which are converted merchant ships. It can support multiple helicopters landed at the same time and it can transport fuel and other goods. But more importantly, it can carry and control several shipping containers full of drones from a safe distance behind their warships in action. They are completely different to previous military logistic ships, they are considered asymmetric hybrid logistic combat platforms, or special ops mpyherships. And because they used to be merchant ships, they are extremily cheap compared to actual military ships.
The only official one known is the MV Ocean Trader. They are support ships so not official military commissioned ships.
The US, Russia and China (and maybe other countries) are experimenting with civilian ships carrying military gear in shipping containers. Like radar systems and missile systems, but also drone launchers and jammers. Russia is already known for their asymmetric warfare, with their seperstist armies fighting in Ukraine before they invaded, their shadow fleets and their mercenary armies in Africa. But China and the US are also operating in a similar way, finding a gray area between civil and military operations.
Why, you may ask? Well, during a conflict a military target is a valid target. But a civilian target is not. So why not equip a civilian target with military gear? That's also why the invasion in Ukraine was labeled by Russia as a "special military operation" instead of a war. Same as what the US did when they kidnapped Maduro and when they illegally attacked Iran. "Let's call it differently so we can get away with it."
Very informative, thanks!
But I wasnt thinking carrier like a ship, but a flying carrier, a mother ship . A drone that can loiter all day above a battlefield, then release dozens of cheap drones when needed could make a real impact. At the same time you could put money into the drone that gets there, recons, loiters, and returns,, while using the advantages of cheap short range suicide drones as your expendable “ammunition”.
Why not both? A cheap disposable drone will never have much range, loitering, reconnaissance, so needs help getting to the battlefield (unless it’s your own town as in Ukraine). But even an expensive long range drone can only go so far. Think of the logistics hub as the military base only a couple hundred miles from Target, wherever there is an ocean. The loitering drone be battlefield over site and response, then cheap suicide drones as the ammunition
There is also the concept of a cargo plane which can drop drone swarms. A few drones are for jamming, some have radar, some have missiles to take out anti air systems and the rest are duds (to saturate defenses) or carry a payload for kamikaze to hit the actual target. The plane loiters outside enemy range while dropping 100 to 500 drones. Thing is, drones don't need a large platform. You can even easily convert a small attack submarine to a subsurface drone carrier if you like.