AUSA NEWS: Air Wolf Program May Give Army Unprecedented Battlefield Speed
10/11/2021
By Stew Magnuson
Aircraft manufacturer Kratos is under contract with the Army to evaluate the possibility of converting one of its target drones into a high-speed unmanned aerial vehicle.
The Air Wolf program has the potential to give the Army unprecedent control and speed on the battlefield with the platform reaching Mach 0.7, said Steve Fendley, president of Kratos Defense and Security Systems Inc.’s unmanned systems division.
“Yeah, it’s fast,”, Fendley said in a recent interview. “It’s a Shadow on steroids,” he added, referring to the Army’s tactical UAV. The only systems that the Army has that are faster are missiles.
For a comparison, a Shadow UAV’s top speed is about 100 mph, a Gray Eagle drone based on the Predator flies at about 192 mph and an Apache attack helicopter’s top speed is 227 miles per hour. The Air Wolf could fly over battlefields at about 538 mph with control and maneuverability that conventional missiles don’t possess.
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/10/11/air-wolf-program-may-give-army-unprecedented-battlefield-speed
