The Australians are continuing to test a potentially revolutionary unmanned wingman that will be able to operate in conjunction with fighter jets. The new tests included flying with the landing gear retracted.
At the Woomera test site in Australia, the first prototype of the Loyal Wingman jet unmanned aerial vehicle built by the Australian division of Boeing Corporation made another flight. For the first time in its history, it performed a flight with the landing gear retracted. It is also reported about the successful test flight of the second prototype Loyal Wingman.
The device was developed under the Loyal Wingman Advanced Development Program in the interests of the Australian Air Force. It will interact with manned combat aircraft.
Watch as @AusAirForce ’s #LoyalWingman landing gear engaged for the first time at the Woomera Range Complex.A second aircraft on the range also completed its first flight. pic.twitter.com/vf5KYSOAAY
- Boeing Australia (@BoeingAustralia) November 4, 2021
Loyal Wingman took to the skies for the first time on February 27. This is the first combat aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia in more than half a century. The tests made it possible to evaluate the main parameters of the aircraft's controllability, its navigation system, communication with the earth and a number of other indicators.
The project can be called young. Australia has announced the start of work on the creation of a fundamentally new type of unmanned vehicle in partnership with Boeing in 2019. The UAV has a length of 11.7 meters. The range is 3,700 kilometers.
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| Loyal Wingman. |
| Source: Boeing |
The drone received an "artificial intelligence" system. It is assumed that he will be able to provide fire support, operating in a semi-autonomous mode. The so-called modular principle was chosen for the UAV: the payload will be placed in replaceable nose compartments, installed depending on the type of mission.
It is still difficult to judge the prospects of unmanned wingmen, but the concept is supported by the military from different countries. For example, Spirit AeroSystems will build a prototype of such a device for the British Royal Air Force.
Something similar is expected to be received in Russia. It is known that in the future they want to create a two-seat version of the Su-57 fighter, which could be used to control a group of large Hunter UAVs.
It was also reported that the Su-57 will be able to carry relatively small UAVs on internal holders, capable of solving, among other things, shock tasks. The specific type of the device was not named, but it is known that Russian engineers are developing a Lightning strike UAV that can be launched from an aircraft carrier. To control the "Lightning" plan to use the drone "Thunder".
