Page 68 - World Airnews Magazine December 2019 Edition

NEWS DIGITAL NEWS DIGITAL

BOEING CONDUCTS FLIGHT TEST teaming system,” Kristin Robertson, vice capacity, sensor diversity, and more of a loyal wingman-type unmanned aircraft
around the world is growing.
president and general manager of Boeing
mixed manned-unmanned force, or even
Autonomous Systems said earlier. just operate as autonomous swarms. With this in mind, Boeing is already eying
OF SURROGATE DRONES a man in the loop, from a ground station or to explore semi-autonomous concept of pitching variants or derivatives of the ATS
“Somewhere in the equation there will be
Really, this is a low-risk way for the RAAF
concept to other similarly sized militaries.
controlled from commercial derivatives or operations, in general. ATS may turn out to The company said it will be able to craft
fighters. I would characterize the autonomy have limited potential, but it is extremely and scale the exact capabilities of the
as actionable intelligence.” cost-effective and could serve as a valuable unmanned aircraft to meet the demands of
For Australia, this could offer a major
The programme is using lower-end jet drones to help demonstrate boost in capability at a relatively low cost stepping stone to future unmanned potential customers.
developments.
“Allies around the world are looking
the concept that will eventually use stealthy fighter-sized drones and without the time and expense required “We also don't know the origins of the for ways to maximize and extend their
to train traditional pilots. Tethered to lower-end surrogates that Boeing used in [force] structures," Robertson said.
manned aircraft via datalink, the ATS this particular test, but they are intriguing "Autonomous systems and some of the
By Joseph Trevithick drones could provide the pilots of manned in their own right. They could be scaled into technologies behind them can make more
aircraft with a more comprehensive picture larger formations and swarms for further of a game-changing leap in affordability
of the battlespace around them and help testing even beyond the Airpower Teaming and quantity, to complement their existing
them detect threats faster in order to System program. fleets."
avoid or neutralize them. Combined with This is all in line with a broader concept, The autonomous teamed flight test
the drone's stealthy design, this could be called Plan Jericho, which the RAAF is shows that Boeing is already making
particularly valuable for helping to further implementing across the force. This is important progress in software that will
reduce the risks to higher cost assets, such focused on leveraging advancements in form the backbone of the ATS effort and
as the F-35, when penetrating deep into artificial intelligence, machine learning, that its team in Australia isn't even waiting
heavily defended areas. unmanned platforms, and other high for the demonstrator to be ready to start
The modular nature of the design also technology endeavors to find ways to showing off what the complete system may
supports the goal of the rapid integration expand capabilities within the limits of be capable of in the future.
of new capabilities and payloads with the country's relatively overall small force Article courtesy https://www.thedrive.
minimal cost and effort. As time goes on, structure. Other countries are increasingly com/the-war-zone/31104/boeing-con-
thinking along similar lines and the number
armed versions of the ATS unmanned
Boeing said that its Australian aircraft could help increase the magazine of programmes concerned with developing ducts-flight-test-of-surrogate-drones-for-
subsidiary has used systems developed australias-loyal-wingman-program .Q
in that country to enable a pair of
unmanned, subscale, jet-powered test
aircraft to conduct a semi-autonomous AIRLINES
teamed flight for the very first time.
This is part of the development of the
Airpower Teaming System for the Royal
Australian Air Force, which is centred on a communicate and co-ordinate with each which is what autonomy is all about."
stealthy ‘loyal wingman’ drone intended to other." "This is an innovation programme for
work together with that service's manned The two jet-powered drones reportedly the RAAF. It is not a capability delivery," he
platforms, including its F-35A Joint Strike flew at speeds up to around 186 miles per continued, explaining that it would offer
Fighters. hour during the test flight. Boeing did not Australia an opportunity to further explore
Boeing Australia announced the success- elaborate on any of the specific test points, manned-unmanned teaming concepts of
ful test, and released an accompanying but did add "next, we’ll try more complex operation, broadly. "This is an opportunity
video, on social media. maneuvers, increasing teaming formation for them to try before they buy, but do it in KENYA
The Chicago-headquartered plane numbers and more complex missions." a meaningful way."
maker had officially unveiled the Airpower We do know that the Royal Australian The RAAF already expects the 38-foot-
Teaming System (ATS) effort at the Avalon Air Force's (RAAF) goal is for the final long ATS loyal wingmen, which will use a AIRWAYS
Air Show in Australia on Feb. 27, but the ATS combat drones to be able to operate bizjet-class jet engine and have a range of
news had already emerged, including on independently or in concert with manned around 2,000 nautical miles, to eventu- WINS AFRAA
The War Zone, the day before. platforms, using a new control architecture ally be able to perform a wide variety of
Boeing is under contract to build an to autonomously maintain formation with missions working together with various
initial demonstrator as part of the previ- other aircraft and perform various tasks. manned aircraft. This includes fighters such AWARD
ously classified Loyal Wingman Advanced The technology that Boeing is testing as its F-35As and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets,
Development Programme, which dates now with these subscale drones aligns well as well as its EA-18G Growler electronic
back to 2018. with that plan. warfare aircraft, E-7A Wedgetail airborne
The Australian government expects to It also makes perfect sense to be early warning and control platforms, and
spend (US) $28.5 million on the project developing this control architecture now P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes. Seychelles, Zanzibar, Kigali, Bujumbura Mauritius, Livingstone,
over the next four years and Boeing is so that it is as mature as possible when the With the exception of the F-35A, these are Victoria falls and Kilimanjaro.
also helping with funding the work on the demonstrator is ready to fly. In February, all notably Boeing products, too. Kenya Airways has received the prestigious African Airlines Kenya Airways offers one of the best networks in Africa with 44
demonstrator through a separate agree- Boeing said that this prototype was already The unmanned aircraft will have a modu- Association (AFRAA) Airline of the Year Award for Best Improved destinations in the continent while providing connectivity to 55
ment to invest around (US)$42 million, in under construction and was scheduled to lar design with the ability to accommodate
total, on various research and development have its first flight next year. "snap-on, snap-off" payloads to rapidly in Intra-Africa Connectivity. destinations worldwide.
programmes in Australia. The company's plan is to “fly, test and reconfigure them for different missions. According to AFRAA, the award recognized Kenya Airways for Kenya Airways is one of the leading airlines in driving growth of
"We successfully achieved our first fail . . . and get this exciting kind of quick Initially, this could include various sensor its remarkable contribution to intra-Africa connectivity through aviation in the continent in line with its mission of contributing to
autonomous teamed flights using high-per- learning" using the ATS demonstrator, packages or electronic warfare systems. opening up the highest number of intra African routes within the sustainable development of Africa.
formance jets as test beds and Australian- Shane Arnott, head of Boeing's Phantom Exactly how much autonomy the drones AFRAA membership in 2018. Recently, Kenya Airways was voted Africa’s leading airline,
developed missions systems technology!" Works International. might have would "depend on what the Since 2018, Kenya Airways has opened four routes in Africa business class, for the sixth time in a row and for the second time
Boeing's announcement on Facebook said. "That becomes a real advantage for us to system is paired with, what it does, what including Mauritius, Mogadishu and Malindi and increased as Africa’s leading airline, economy class during the World Travel
"Our team tested the jets’ abilities to safely go fast and get to trust the product quicker, the effect is, and who does what in the frequencies and capacity to destinations such as Cape Town, Awards. Q

World Airnews | December Extra 2019 World Airnews | December Extra 2019
— 64 — — 65 —