Two Avenger jet drones were coordinated in flight for several hours using an artificial intelligence system for Skyborg unmanned wingmen. As reported by The research laboratory of the US Air Force, the devices responded to navigation commands, did not go beyond the specified geofences and adhered to the specified flight modes.
The Skyborg program involves the creation of cheap maneuverable combat drones and an artificial intelligence system to control them. These vehicles will have to take over part of the strike tasks of manned aircraft.
The tender for the development of prototypes of the "brain" of an unmanned wingman of the US Air Force was announced last year. The artificial intelligence system has already flown the UTAP-22 tactical drone and the Avenger jet .
The Avenger is a drone 13 meters long with a wingspan of 20 meters. It can reach speeds of up to 740 kilometers per hour, stay in the air for up to 18 hours and carry weapons weighing up to 2.9 tons.
On October 26, the US Air Force tested two Avenger drones with the "brain" of an unmanned wingman. The system allowed the devices to fly autonomously, exchanging data with each other and coordinating. Avenger responded to navigation commands, did not go beyond the specified geofences and adhered to the specified flight modes.
The tests, which lasted several hours, were observed from a ground station. The military noted that during future experiments they will test how a manned aircraft interacts with several drones with the "brain" of Skyborg.
Judging by the photos, this time the Avenger drones flew with the Legion Pod infrared search and tracking system. It allows you to detect and track targets by their thermal radiation. Earlier, we wrote how the Avenger, using Legion Pod, autonomously tracked and escorted several targets.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva
