30 · MT 2/2023 Theme: Light Fighters The XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrates the separation of the ALTIUS-600 small unmanned aircraft system in a test at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground test range, Arizona, March 26, 2021. The test was the first time the weapons bay doors have been opened in flight. (Photo: U.S. Air Force) According to the Research Lab officials, the outcome of the project Skyborg is not to create a fully autonomous UCAV to replace human pilots. Instead, it will provide them with key data to support rapid, informed decisions. The Loyal Wingman UCAVs will be able to undertake air-to-ground missions such as DEAD and SEAD and to provide a better situational awareness for the teamed fifth generation fighter jet (F-35A/B/C) and later the sixth-generation fighter jets. They also will increase survivability of the manned combat aircraft by means of not just employing electronic warfare and dispensing decoys but to also play the role of a decoy themselves to be targeted by the enemy‘s air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles to save the manned fighter jets. Conclusion PLAAF is the world‘s first military operator of Loyal Wingman UCAVs also known as Airpower Teaming Systems (ATS), while RAAF and RuASF (Russian Air and Space Force) will soon be the next operators. Unlike RAAF‘s future ATS, the MQ-28A Ghost Bat which teams with the air force‘s F-35As, the Russian S-70B and Chinese GJ-11s are not low-cost UCAVs. As a solution for this problem, Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has already begun to develop a low-cost supersonic Loyal Wingman UCAV named Dark Sword which will have lower production costs than GJ-11. As highlighted, UCAVs will not completely replace manned combat aircraft at-least for the next two decades. However, the future sixth generation fighter jets such as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) will be designed and built with an alternative capability of being piloted remotely and if needed being used autonomously, but it is still unlikely to see complete replacement of the manned combat aircraft with such UCAVs within the next two decades. Despite the fact that China has been reported to be the premier use of the Loyal Wingman UCAVs, it is expected that USAF will be the world‘s largest operator of such drones within the next two decades thanks to Skyborg. Many other countries such as France and India are running similar programs to create similar ATS to be teamed with their fourth-generation fighter jets such as Dassault Rafale. It is expected that in the 2050‘s, every major world‘s airpower will use Loyal Wingman UCAVs as a complementary combat aircraft. Intelligence in the design of their mission and weapon systems. Under the Skyborg project, AeroVironment, Autonodyne LLC, BAE Systems, Blue Force Technologies, Fregata Systems LLC, Lockheed Martin, NextGen Aeronautic, Sierra Technical Services, and Wichita State University were contracted by the USAF on 29 September 2020. Later ,on 21 December 2020, Voly Defence Solutions LLC of Concord, California was also contracted. Since then, these companies have been competing to field an unmanned wingman cheap enough to sustain losses in combat but capable of supporting manned fighters in hostile environments. Under the program, Kratos with XQ-58, Boeing Australia with MQ-28 Ghost Bat and Lockheed Martin with Speed Racer are the main competitors. The first two have already been developed with their flying prototypes under test while Lockheed Martin is at the final stage of development and construction of the first prototype of its Loyal Wingman. USAF Research Laboratory defines Skyborg project as an autonomy-focused capability that will enable the Air Force to operate and sustain low-cost, teamed UCAVs which can thwart adversaries with quick, decisive actions in contested environments. The project intends to enable airborne combat mass by building a transferable autonomy foundation for a family of layered, unmanned air vehicles. U.S. Air Force Research Lab delivers Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. (Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees) The second flying prototype of S-70 Okhotnik with flat exhaust nozzle for its modified engine van will be seen during the unveiling event in December 2021. (Photo: UAC Russia) The DARPA/U.S. Air Force X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) system demonstration program completed the first phase of demonstrations, known as Block I, on February 28, 2003. (Photo: NASA Photo / Lori Losey) f
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