Singapore - based Kelley Aerospace has started developing a supersonic unmanned slave Arrow. According to Flightglobal, until now the company has been engaged in the conceptual design of the aircraft. The developers claim that they have already received pre-orders for the supply of one hundred new unmanned Arrow wingmen.
It is believed that unmanned wingmen will make it possible to secure the operation of manned military aircraft, acting as reconnaissance vehicles, weapons carriers and autonomous fighters. The development of unmanned wingmen is currently underway in several countries around the world, including Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Japan and Australia.
Conceptual design of the unmanned slave Arrow was conducted since the beginning of the 2010s. Since 2014, Kelley Aerospace has been conducting flight tests of a smaller model of the Arrow, made in 1/4 scale. In addition, the developers have assembled a full-size model of the drone, on which the placement of on-board equipment and additional systems is being worked out.
According to the preliminary design, the maximum take-off weight of the new device will be 16.8 tons. Arrow will be able to fly at a speed of Mach 2.1 at a distance of up to 4.8 thousand kilometers. The glider of the unmanned slave will be made of carbon fiber monocoque, and the design of the device will use low-visibility technologies. One manned fighter will be able to control several unmanned Arrow wingmen.
According to Kelley Aerospace, the cost of one unmanned slave will be from 9 to 16 million dollars, depending on the version.
Earlier it became known that the US Air Force Research Laboratory in July 2021 will test unmanned wingmen developed under the Skyborg project at the Orange Flag military exercises. The military will check the work of the" brain " of unmanned wingmen. Three American companies are engaged in the development of the wingmen: Kratos, Boeing and General Atomics. This will be the first test of such devices in the exercise.
Vasily Sychev
