US Air Force must build trust to add drone wingmen, report says
By Stephen Losey
Oct 13, 02:29 PM
WASHINGTON — The Air Force is all-in on the concept of drone wingmen teamed up with human piloted fighters as the future of air combat.
But how exactly will the human pilots inside F-35s or the Next Generation Air Dominance platform work with and guide collaborative combat aircraft? And will these drone wingmen be ready to fight under their human pilots’ instructions in a future war?
The Air Force needs must do more to lay the groundwork for human-machine interaction, Heather Penney, a former F-16 pilot and senior resident fellow for the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, wrote in a report.
And if those steps aren’t taken soon, she said, drone wingmen might not be fully trusted by the pilots flying alongside them and the concept of manned-unmanned teaming might not be as effective as it could be.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022/10/13/us-air-force-must-build-trust-to-add-drone-wingmen-report-says/
