Pilotless Fighters: Getting Numbers and Capabilities
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By Gary Schmitt & James Cunningham
June 16, 2021
In February, the Loyal Wingman finally took flight in Australia. A pilot-less, stealthy aircraft designed to operate alongside manned fighters, the drone exemplifies what may be a better approach to military innovation: rapidly delivering large numbers of advanced capabilities cheaply and doing so in a way that augments the legacy force, not simply replacing it.
Flying at the Woomera test range in South Australia, the 38-foot long, Boeing-developed drone completed its first pre-planned flight path without incident. The bantam-size fighter would fly alongside the Royal Australian Air Force's fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, like F-18Fs or F-35s, armed with sensors, missiles, or other payloads and guided by AI-assisted autonomous flight technology. And it would team with other Wingmen to support the piloted plane or fighter in executing its operation. The other models in development around the world, like the U.S. Air Force's Skyborg program, currently in prototyping, and the United Kingdom’s own "Novel Combat Aircraft," would operate similarly.
Together these programs represent an alternative to the current model of military modernization and innovation. For years, defense planners have pursued world-class, high-tech capabilities that would offset enemy weapons and systems. But their pursuit of silver bullets for the wars of the future left us unprepared for the wars of today and the immediate years ahead—a pattern seemingly reinforced by the recent budget request.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2021/06/16/pilotless_fighters_getting_numbers_and_capabilities_781645.html
