The US Air Force is moving towards a new generation of unmanned aircraft. Yesterday, December 12, the portal flightglobal.com He reported that the US Air Force has officially announced its intention to arm itself with guided drones.
Secretary of the US Air Force Frank Kendall, speaking at the virtual conference Defense One Outlook 2022, said that the creation of loyal wingmen is a priority for the coming years. All the experiments deployed in the past years have been completed, now the military command is reviewing the data obtained and drawing up requirements for the drone of the future.
XQ-58A Valkyrie drone, one of the experimental guided drones
Image source: janes.com
For several years, the US Air Force has conducted a number of experiments to create unmanned wingmen - relatively inexpensive drones capable of carrying various payloads, including weapons. It is planned that the American fighter will carry up to five such drones on combat missions. In addition, the wingmen will accompany promising B-21 bombers.
Previously, the US Air Force experimented with four types of guided drones, and also developed a single digital system to work with them. In addition, the US Armed Forces are conducting experiments with various types of autonomous drones that can be launched from transport aircraft.
