Manned-Unmanned Teaming Under Accelerated Development

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Robotic systems can accompany fighters as decoys, weapons carriers or sensor platforms, enhancing their lethality and situational awareness. 

The U.S.  and Australian Air Force are making progress with the development of unmanned jets that can serve as “loyal wingmen” for manned counterparts. 

The XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator of the US Air Force is an unmanned, long-range, “high subsonic” aircraft developed by Kratos Defense and Security Solutions. The aircraft falls under the Air Force Research Laboratory’s low-cost attritable aircraft technology portfolio.

Boeing Australia is also working on a research-and-development effort with the Royal Australian Air Force through the loyal wingman advanced development ATS program. 

The American Valkyrie is intended to be a low-cost, affordable solution for tactical unmanned aerial systems operations, The US system has been flying regularly since March of 2019. Its first flight lasted for over an hour at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, the Air Force said in a news release. The service will hold multiple flight tests over two phases to test the system’s functionality, aerodynamic performance and launch and recovery systems, according to nationaldefensemagazine.org. The most recent flight test was in January. 

 Kratos has already begun manufacturing the vehicles ahead of an expected Air Force production contract award. Although the company is waiting on Air Force production agreements, the company has received Defense Department contracts for Valkyrie mission system integration and demonstration testing in the meantime.

Meanwhile, Boeing Australia is working on a research-and-development effort with the Royal Australian Air Force through the loyal wingman advanced development program. The company’s aircraft is called the airpower teaming system, or ATS, according to the company.

Jerad Hayes, director of autonomous aviation and technology at Boeing defense, space and security sector, said: “It is an ideal aircraft to support force training requirements and can be used independently or in support of piloted aircraft. ATS is designed to have 5th-generation flight characteristics, enabling cooperative operations with existing assets in the same flight regime.”

According to newatlas.com, the the Loyal Wingman is being developed for the global market by a coalition of 16 Australian industries using digital engineering and advanced composite materials, and its sensors can be modified for the customer’s requirements. The first of three prototypes will be used to assess and improve the production of the final version.