{"id":32533,"date":"2022-07-22T17:13:02","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T17:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/07\/22\/future-of-autonomous-flight-comes-into-focus-at-farnborough-airshow\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:41:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:41:45","slug":"future-of-autonomous-flight-comes-into-focus-at-farnborough-airshow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/22\/future-of-autonomous-flight-comes-into-focus-at-farnborough-airshow\/","title":{"rendered":"Future of autonomous flight comes into focus at Farnborough Airshow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FARNBOROUGH, England \u2014 The future of defense aviation is autonomous<\/a>, aerospace industry leaders repeatedly said at twin air shows in England this month \u2014 and it\u2019s arriving soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has made it a top priority for the service to increasingly use autonomous aircraft<\/a> \u2014 that is, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, that uses technology like artificial intelligence to manage its missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And at the back-to-back Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough Airshow, time and again the topic of autonomy came up in conversations, interviews and briefings, as company executives sought to show how they could make it a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry leaders see autonomous aircraft and teaming capabilities as a key market set to rapidly grow \u2014 as well as an avenue to accelerate research and development into cutting-edge new technology and build partnerships with other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a really exciting time to be in aeronautics,\u201d Tom Jones, president of Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, said in an interview with Defense News at RIAT July 16. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things changing, and the threat is pushing us to look at technologies that we haven\u2019t before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A prime example of these new technologies is using unmanned aircraft to augment fighters on combat missions. The Air Force is starting to refer to these as collaborative combat aircraft, or CCA, and wants them to accompany F-35s and the secretive sixth-generation Next Generation Air Dominance platform now in the works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Air Force officials increasingly worried about the potential for a war to erupt with China \u2014 whose modernized military and air defenses could pose a major threat to allied aircraft \u2014 Kendall wants the service to augment its fighters with autonomous drones that could serve as decoys or scouts or even jam enemy signals or conduct their own strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kendall earlier this year numbered this concept among his seven \u201coperational imperatives\u201d for the department to pursue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And at Farnborough and RIAT, the conversation focused on the finer points of how such a manned-unmanned teaming concept would become reality \u2014 and how to avoid potential pitfalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firms hone their pitches<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In a briefing for reporters at Farnborough, Steve Nordlund, vice president and general manager of Phantom Works for Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said manned-unmanned teaming doesn\u2019t have to be a \u201cswarm\u201d of UAVs around one piloted fighter \u2014 although he said Boeing could produce swarming technology if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, Nordlund said that Phantom Works \u2014 Boeing\u2019s research and development organization \u2014 envisions these autonomous drone wingmen possibly being \u201cuntethered\u201d from a platform and able to go where they are most needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a fighter pilot flying a mission has a need for a particular capability \u2014 for example, if he comes across a pocket of enemy air defenses that need to be shut down \u2014 he could call upon one of an array of autonomous drones lurking nearby to electronically jam or otherwise neutralize those air defenses. And the other fighters flying the mission could turn to the same reserve of nearby drones if they need help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This would differ slightly from the concept Kendall has described, in which an F-35 or Next Generation Air Dominance fighter would be \u201ccalling plays\u201d for its own unique formation of as many as five unmanned aircraft dedicated to that fighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s an aircraft in a different vicinity that has a need, the unmanned system could respond to that,\u201d Nordlund said. \u201cSo the interoperability piece becomes really important, the level of autonomy becomes important. How that handoff happens is really important. So those are a lot of the things that we\u2019re working on, both procedurally as well as the technology to enable it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nordlund said Boeing could also produce autonomous wingmen that operate \u201ctethered\u201d to a single aircraft if necessary, adding that the company wants to be flexible enough to provide both options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northrop\u2019s Jones warned that to quickly field a system that can team autonomous drones with piloted aircraft, the Air Force and industry must simplify the missions they want them to do \u2014 in other words, walk before they can run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t make everything too complex out of the gate,\u201d Jones said. \u201cLet\u2019s not make an unmanned F-35 the first step. If you try \u2026 it\u2019s going to be a long time to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones said that means identifying whether the Air Force wants a fighter\u2019s autonomous teammate to be a \u201cmissile truck\u201d to augment its firepower, for example, or to carry a separate system of radars or sensors to provide a better picture of the battlefield. And it could mean having multiple unmanned systems that could each do its own unique job, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
In a screenshot from a Lockheed Martin concept video, an F-35 flies with autonomous drones it is teamed up with. Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works is working on a two-tiered path for the Air Force’s concept of teaming piloted fighters such as the F-35 up with autonomous drones flying alongside it. (Lockheed Martin video)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Defense firms \u2014 from smaller companies to some of the largest contractors \u2014 are hoping to take advantage of momentum in this field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before RIAT and Farnborough began, Lockheed Martin\u2019s Skunk Works<\/a> said in a briefing with reporters it was working on a mix of expendable drone wingmen \u2014 which it said could be fielded in as soon as three years \u2014 and more advanced autonomous systems for the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Autonomy goes mainstream<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

And at Farnborough, Kratos Defense and Security Solutions touted<\/a> recent test flights of two of its autonomous XQ-58A Valkyrie drones as part of the Skyborg artificial intelligence wingman program \u2014 and said the success could lead to mainstreaming such autonomous technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kratos executive Jeffrey Herro even predicted Skyborg could be wound down within the next year or so, and the capabilities it has demonstrated incorporated into new systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is getting to the end of the Skyborg program, is where we are,\u201d Herro said in a July 18 interview with Defense News. \u201cAnd then it will morph into other programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boeing Defense officials pointed to work they\u2019ve already done in manned-unmanned teaming on already-established platforms such as the MQ-28 Ghost Bat \u2014 also known as ATS, or Airpower Teaming System, or more popularly, the Loyal Wingman program demonstrated by the Royal Australian Air Force. Boeing also makes the MQ-25 Stingray, the Navy\u2019s autonomous refueling drone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ted Colbert, the chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said company officials spent days at RIAT talking to customers about autonomous, uncrewed teaming. There is tremendous interest around this market, he said, and it will be important in coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re leaning really hard into the future with autonomy [and] ATS,\u201d Colbert said in a roundtable with reporters in London July 17. Those programs \u201coffer the opportunity to leverage all the lessons on \u2026 moving [traditional] physical platforms forward, but also integrating great technology from a connectivity, analytics, artificial intelligence perspective, and those supporting the needs of our missions around the world, as they evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colbert said Boeing is also energized by the fact the uncrewed teaming concept is \u201cbrand agnostic\u201d and not just a Boeing-specific program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boeing has a its own engineering, research and development and autonomous technology expertise, Colbert said, but the company will partner with other organizations when it can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI come from the technology world, and the way you win in the technology world is through partnerships,\u201d Colbert said. \u201cYou find other folks that can complement the great capabilities that you have, you combine them and you move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Boeing rolled out the first Airpower Teaming System unmanned aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force on May 5, 2020. (Boeing)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Autonomy also emerged as a possible selling point as two key companies jockeyed for position<\/a> in a potential Air Force aerial refueling tanker program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airbus on July 19 announced its A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport \u2014 the basis for the Lockheed Martin LMXT aerial refueling tanker it hopes can compete for the service\u2019s KC-Y bridge tanker \u2014 had been certified to conduct automatic air-to-air refueling boom operations in daylight, and is the first ever tanker to receive this certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airbus also said it had launched a demonstrator it hoped would produce technologies that could lead the way to autonomous refueling and formation flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boeing, which makes the KC-46A Pegasus tanker the Air Force is now bringing into service, later that day issued a statement to reporters saying the Pegasus had carried out autonomous boom aerial capabilities during flight tests. The Air Force is considering forgoing a competition for the bridge tanker and going straight to buying more KC-46s, though Lockheed hopes it has a chance to compete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it wasn\u2019t just aviation firms eyeing the autonomous market. Companies that make technologies that feed into autonomous systems also sought to demonstrate their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a July 18 interview with Defense News at Farnborough, William Lynn, who leads Leonardo DRS, said integrated sensing capabilities, which his company makes, are at the core of autonomy, although his company is primarily working with the Army on the technology. If sensors bring in a jumble of data and signals that can\u2019t be combined in a cohesive, integrated way, he said, the unmanned vehicle won\u2019t be able to operate reliably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be able to have autonomy, you need to have that whole 360 degree view of the world and the ability to process that in an integrated way … to let tanks [or] any kind of land vehicle operate autonomously,\u201d Lynn said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to have to be able to see its world, understand the terrain, understand where friendly forces are, where adversary forces are. You can\u2019t drive the tank if it\u2019s all coming in in a fragmented way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leonardo DRS is a mid-tier defense electronics firm that primarily serves the U.S. military, and is the U.S. subsidiary of the Italian defense firm Leonardo SpA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the autonomy concept has moved so far along that discussions have increasingly shifted to operational questions \u2014 for instance, how pilots would manage their drone wingmen in a combat situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air Commodore Jim Beck, an F-35 pilot for the U.K.\u2019s Royal Air Force, said at a panel discussion at Farnborough July 19 that adding UAV wingmen likely won\u2019t tax pilots\u2019 attentions while flying in combat, since the fighter already automatically processes mammoth amounts of information without the pilot\u2019s input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no reason why [a drone wingman] should be any less autonomous than what the F-35 is doing right now,\u201d Beck said. \u201cWe can design the architecture such that … we don\u2019t saturate the human [with] decisions. … We\u2019re there pretty much already with the F-35.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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