The United States has worked out the use of an unmanned slave using a tablet. In the future, such UAVs will be able to operate together with fighters of the fourth and fifth generations.
The company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, or GA-ASI, said that it has worked out the interaction between the pilot and a semi-autonomous UAV, which is called an unmanned wingman. During the tests, the Beechcraft King Air turboprop aircraft, which imitated a fighter, gave commands to the Avenger drone. To do this, we used a software application downloaded to a device similar to a tablet.
GA-ASI announced the successful completion of the concept demonstration in its press release dated September 3. The tests took place in the sky over Southern California on August 25. The unmanned aerial vehicle took off from an airfield in the Mojave Desert, while the Beechcraft King Air took off from the airport in San Diego. The tests lasted two hours.
The concept of an unmanned wingman is designed to expand the capabilities of combat aviation, increasing situational awareness of pilots and reducing possible risks. It is assumed that such a UAV will be able not only to conduct reconnaissance, but also independently strike at the enemy.
Avenger
Image source: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
In February, the Loyal Wingman unmanned wingman developed by Boeing took to the sky for the first time. The flight of the first combat aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia for more than 50 years was carried out under the control of a Boeing operator, who watched from a ground control station.
Loyal Wingman will carry out the basic commands of fighter pilots, having a developed artificial intelligence that helps him to cope with the tasks more effectively. An important feature is the so-called modular principle: thanks to the replaceable nose compartments, the Loyal Wingman will be able to take a different load depending on the type of mission.
Loyal Wingman
Image source: Boeing
Russia is also actively working in this direction. An unmanned slave can be created on the basis of the Hunter strike UAV. A two-seat version of the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter will be developed specifically for controlling it. Earlier it became known that one such aircraft will be able to control four "Hunters".
According to information from open sources, the device has a length of 14 meters with a wingspan of 19 meters. The flight range is 6000 kilometers. The maximum speed can reach 1000 kilometers per hour.
The combat load of the UAV is, according to various sources, from 2.8 to eight tons. In the winter, it became known that the Hunter had already been tested by bombing, using unguided 500-kilogram ammunition placed on internal holders.
