Here's How Fighter Pilots Could Control "Loyal Wingmen" Via A Tablet On Their Thigh
Controlling unmanned wingmen could be as simple as pointing and clicking on a tablet strapped to the thighs of future fighter pilots.
By Joseph Trevithick September 7, 2021
The War Zone
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, or GA-ASI, recently announced that it had conducted a demonstration to show how pilots in fourth and fifth-generation fighter jets will work together with advanced semi-autonomous "loyal wingman" type unmanned aircraft in the future. During the test, an individual riding in a specially-configured Beechcraft King Air twin-engine turboprop, acting as a surrogate for a fighter jet, was able to issue commands to a stealthy Avenger drone through a software app loaded onto a tablet-like device.
GA-ASI announced the successful completion of the demonstration in a press release on Sept. 3, 2021. The actual test had taken place in the skies over southern California on Aug. 25. The Avenger flew from the company's Desert Horizon facility in the Mojave Desert, while the modified King Air operated from San Diego's Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
"The demo lasted for approximately two hours," according to the press release. "The successful test proves the ability for GA-ASI MUM-T [manned-unmanned teaming] to command airborne assets while autonomously executing behaviors and missions that provide increased awareness and effectiveness to the warfighter."
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42282/heres-how-fighter-pilots-could-control-loyal-wingmen-via-a-tablet-on-their-thigh
