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The Hindu
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Drone makers battle for air dominance with 'wingman' aircraft
Defence heavyweights and emerging military tech firms used the Paris Airshow to showcase cutting-edge drones known as "wingmen": uncrewed aircraft designed to fly alongside next-generation fighter jets and reshape the future of air combat. The Paris show, the biggest aerospace and defence gathering in the world, featured a record number of drones, reflecting their rising importance after proving highly effective in the Ukraine war and as the U.S. prepares for a potential conflict with China in the Pacific. In April last year, the U.S. Air Force selected Anduril and General Atomics to develop the first fleet of drone wingmen, which are designed to fly alongside manned fighter jets and are officially known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). California-based Anduril, which has already supplied small drones to Ukraine and was making its debut at the air show, displayed a model of its 17-foot Fury drone, planned for production in 2027 as part of the U.S. Air Force's CCA programme. "We're moving extremely fast," Jason Levin, Anduril's senior vice president of engineering, told Reuters. "The aircraft is very capable. We can't go into specifics here, but it performs the mission like a fighter." Levin said Anduril had raised $2.5 billion to build a 5-million-square-foot production facility in Ohio, with construction set to begin next year. In March, Anduril signed a 30-million-pound ($38 million) deal with Britain to supply its compact Altius drone to Ukraine. The drone can be launched from the ground or air and is capable of conducting strikes, serving as a decoy or for cyber warfare. Larger drones like Fury are part of the U.S. CCA programme, which aims to field around 1,000 autonomous drones capable of conducting surveillance, electronic warfare and strike operations alongside piloted fighter jets, such as Lockheed Martin's F-35 and the next-generation F-47, which Boeing was tapped to build following its selection by the Air Force in March. General Atomics showed off a model of its YFQ-42A drone at the show, which is its equivalent of the Fury, with both designed for potential use in the Pacific if China invaded democratically-ruled Taiwan. Last week, Boeing demonstrated the potential of drones operating in coordination with human pilots during a groundbreaking test with the Royal Australian Air Force, the U.S. aerospace giant announced at the air show. In the trial, two of Boeing's Ghost Bat drones flew alongside an E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft, with a human operator remotely controlling the uncrewed systems to carry out a mission against an airborne target, the company said. "The Ghost Bat has the potential to turn a single fighter jet into a fighting team, with advanced sensors that are like hundreds of eyes in the sky," Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said in a statement. European defence firms are also advancing wingman drone initiatives, including Sweden's Saab and a trilateral partnership between Dassault Aviation, Airbus, and Indra Sistemas under the Future Combat Air System. The programme aims to integrate autonomous drones with manned fighter jets. Turkey's Baykar displayed two of its drone models at the show for the first time: the high-altitude, heavy lift Akinci and the TB3, which has foldable wings and can take off or land on short-runway aircraft carriers. On Monday, Baykar and Italian defence and aerospace group Leonardo formally launched a joint venture for unmanned systems. Germany's Rheinmetall announced at the show that it would partner with Anduril to build versions of Fury and Barracuda, a cruise missile-style drone, for European markets.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
AI-powered 'Wingman' drones stun Paris Airshow 2025: What they are, how they work, and why Military is betting big
What Are Wingman Drones? The Fury and the YFQ-42A Live Events Boeing and Ghost Bat's Major Test Europe and Turkey Join the Race A Big European Partnership (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel At the Paris Airshow this year, drones took centre stage like never before. Some of the world's biggest defence companies and new-age tech firms gathered to show off next-generation 'wingman' drones, unmanned aircraft that fly alongside fighter jets and support them in drones are being developed to work closely with modern fighter planes and are set to reshape the way wars are fought. The growing popularity of drones in the Ukraine war and rising tensions in the Pacific region have pushed countries like the U.S. to invest heavily in this drones, officially known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), are uncrewed fighter-style planes that can perform dangerous missions alongside human pilots. They can do things like spy on the enemy, jam enemy signals, launch attacks, or even protect the year, the U.S. Air Force picked two companies, Anduril and General Atomics , to start building these advanced drones. These companies put their latest models on display at the Paris Anduril showcased a model of its Fury drone, which is planned to go into production by 2027. The company is moving fast, with plans to build a massive production facility in Ohio. Anduril has already supplied smaller drones to Ukraine and also signed a £30 million deal with the UK to send its compact Altius drones for Ukrainian Atomics, meanwhile, displayed the YFQ-42A, its answer to the Fury. Both are being developed to support U.S. forces in the Pacific, especially in case of a conflict involving China and Taiwan. Boeing made headlines with a successful test involving its Ghost Bat drones. In the trial, the drones flew alongside a manned Australian surveillance aircraft and completed a mission, all controlled remotely by a human. Officials said this kind of drone could make one fighter jet as powerful as a team, using sensors that act like 'hundreds of eyes in the sky.'European defence firms aren't far behind. Companies like Saab, Dassault Aviation, Airbus, and Indra Sistemas are working on the Future Combat Air System, which will combine drones and manned fighter Baykar also brought its drones to the Paris Airshow for the first time, including the Akinci and the TB3, which can land on small aircraft carriers. Baykar has also teamed up with Italian company Leonardo to create unmanned systems another major announcement, Germany's Rheinmetall said it would partner with Anduril to build Fury and Barracuda drones (a missile-style drone) for rising global tensions and the growing success of drones in battlefields, the race to build smarter, faster, and more capable drones is heating up. And at this year's Paris Airshow, it's clear that the future of war may be fought by machines flying side-by-side with from Reuters
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Boeing, RAAF Demonstrate MQ-28 Teaming with E-7A Wedgetail
- Two uncrewed MQ-28 aircraft controlled by single operator onboard an E-7A Wedgetail- Successful trial validates key interoperability requirement to meet operational capability WOOMERA, South Australia, June 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a first of its kind demonstration, Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have successfully conducted a mission against an airborne target using two in-flight MQ-28 Ghost Bat aircraft and a third digital aircraft, all controlled from an airborne E-7A Wedgetail. During the mission, a single operator onboard the E-7A took control of the uncrewed MQ-28s emulating the role they play in flying ahead of and protecting crewed assets. "This trial demonstrates family-of-systems integration, the strength of our open systems architecture, and is a critical first step towards integrating mission partners' software and communications systems natively into the E-7A Wedgetail," said Glen Ferguson, director MQ-28 Global Programs. "It not only validated a key element of the MQ-28 concept of operations, but also how collaborative combat aircraft can expand and enhance the role of the E-7A to meet future force requirements. "It is another tangible proof point of the maturity of our program." Australian Minister for Defence Industry The Honourable Pat Conroy MP acknowledged the milestone saying, "The Ghost Bat has the potential to turn a single fighter jet into a fighting team, with advanced sensors that are like hundreds of eyes in the sky." The software was jointly developed and implemented by Boeing Defence Australia, Defence Science and Technology Group and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories. "It has been an exceptional collaborative effort across organisations from government, contractors, and global partners," said Adam Tsacoumangos, director of Air Dominance Programs for Boeing's Phantom Works. This trial is part of a series of events with RAAF assets throughout this year, collectively known as Capability Demonstration 2025 (CD25). CD25 will demonstrate MQ-28 operational effectiveness and how collaborative combat aircraft will integrate and operate with RAAF crewed assets. Future events will involve teaming with other assets, including F/A-18F and F-35. A leading global aerospace company and top U.S. exporter, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. Our U.S. and global workforce and supplier base drive innovation, economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing is committed to fostering a culture based on our core values of safety, quality and integrity. ContactBelinda EganBoeing Australia Boeing Media Relationsmedia@ Photo - View original content: SOURCE Boeing Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MQ-28 Ghost Bat Is Of 'Strong Interest' To The U.S. Navy
The U.S. Navy is touting the U.S.-Australian MQ-28 Ghost Bat 'loyal wingman' type drone program as a model for future industrial partnerships, while confirming continued U.S. military interest in the drone. The fact that the Navy is now speaking about this is notable, on the one hand because the MQ-28 has so far been seen primarily as a program of interest for the U.S. Air Force, and on the other because the Navy is currently still working to define its carrier-based Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) plans. Asked by TWZ about what the Navy is seeking to get from the MQ-28, and its wider goal for the platform, Capt. Ron Flanders, Public Affairs Officer at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition (RDA), said: 'The partnership between the United States and Australia on the MQ-28 represents a new model of joint development, where allied nations co-design and co-produce high-end military capabilities. The U.S. has expressed strong interest in leveraging the MQ-28's AI-driven autonomy and modular design for future air combat operations.' The joint development of high-technology military hardware, as referenced in the first part of this response, is not restricted to the MQ-28, of course, and there are already other big-ticket programs involving U.S. and Australian collaboration. The second part of the answer is somewhat more intriguing, since it does suggest that the Navy may well also be looking seriously at how it might be able to leverage the MQ-28 — and related technologies. It only emerged in 2019 that Australia was working together with Boeing on the MQ-28, originally referred to as the Airpower Teaming System (ATS). The first flight of one of these drones occurred in 2021. Meanwhile, three Ghost Bat prototypes are known to have been built and flight-tested in Australia. As it now stands, Boeing is planning to build the MQ-28 in Queensland, Australia, and provide them to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), as an important part of the service's future plans. As of 2022, the RAAF said it wanted to acquire at least 10 MQ-28s by the end of 2025, at which point it would begin flying them operationally. Last month, Boeing provided an update on the program, pointing to plans for a series of flight-test demonstrations later this year, which will include MQ-28s teaming with crewed assets, such as E-7 Wedgetail and F-35 stealth fighter, to complete operationally relevant missions. As of March of this year, the test team had recorded 100 test flights. Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force has also said it will make use of a Ghost Bat for testing purposes, with the design serving as what it describes as a 'technology feeder' for the service's CCA program. In February of last year, the Australian Department of Defense disclosed that it had 'signed a CCA development project arrangement with the United States on 30 March 2023.' While this was widely presumed to relate to the Air Force CCA program, it could also refer to the Navy effort. However, while the U.S. Air Force has now chosen its two CCA designs —at least competing for Increment 1 of that effort — the U.S. Navy is taking a more circumspect approach, as we discussed in depth only recently. At this point, it's also worth noting that Increment 2 of the Air Force's CCA effort could be the first to include foreign participation, something the service has confirmed in the past. This could well provide another opportunity for the MQ-28 with the Air Force. Meanwhile, the Navy still plans to develop and field carrier-based CCAs that will work alongside the service's fighter aircraft in a force-multiplying role, but, for the time being at least, the service is focusing more on its MQ-25 Stingray tanker drone, and its supporting infrastructure, while allowing the other services, especially the U.S. Air Force, to prove out the CCA concept. It's this approach that makes the Navy's statement on the MQ-28 all the more interesting, suggesting that the Ghost Bat could find a way into the service's CCA thinking. On the other hand, there is evidence that the Navy is currently interested in cheaper and more disposable CCAs than the Air Force, which is pursuing a much higher-end capability with unit costs in the tens of millions. That would appear to count against the MQ-28, which is a larger and more expensive design. Boeing has already pitched the MQ-28 for carrier-based applications, with a rendering of a variant or derivative of the drone with a visible tail hook shown landing on a carrier in a briefing put together by the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Boeing subsequently confirmed that this was a company image, and as such could be intended for the U.S. Navy, too. .@RoyalNavy briefing on future unmanned rotary capabilities at #IMHelicon, but note the carrier landing MQ-28 Ghost Bat… #drone #drones — Gareth Jennings (@GarethJennings3) February 21, 2023 'We are studying future options to meet the forecast capability requirements both locally and internationally,' Boeing told TWZ in 2023, in response to questions about this particular development. 'We cannot disclose specific variant details.' Overall, the design of the MQ-28 emphasizes a high degree of modularity, including a rapidly swappable nose section. It also make extensive use of open-architecture mission systems, as you can read more about here. Should the U.S. Navy — or another customer — decide to pursue the development of a carrier-based MQ-28, these factors would make that process easier. Whether it's the Navy or the Air Force, TWZ has previously laid out a detailed case for how the trilateral Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) defense cooperation agreement, specifically, could provide an ideal framework for cooperation on the Air Force CCA program, and the same applies to the Navy's version of the same program, or another adjacent effort. There is also emerging evidence indicating that the U.S. Navy is already involved in the MQ-28 test program as it seeks to define its CCA requirements. An official biography of Cdr. James Moore Licata, callsign 'Two Times,' states that, in February 2023, he reported to the 'Ghost Wolves' of Air Test & Evaluation Squadron 24 (UX-24) at Webster Naval Outlying Field, Maryland, to assume the role of Government Flight Test Director for Advanced Development efforts. Here, Licata 'served as the military Test and Evaluation lead for U.S. Navy Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and the U.S. Navy's principal test representative in the CCA Development Project Arrangement between the United States and Australian governments.' Licata left that assignment in February of this year, joining Air Test & Evaluation Squadron 31 (VX-31) at China Lake, California, as Chief Test Pilot. While the biography doesn't mention MQ-28 by name, the description of a 'CCA Development Project Arrangement' involving the U.S. and Australian governments suggests that Ghost Bat would have been at least a major focus of that effort. The U.S. Navy and RAAF also operate the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude long-endurance drone, providing further options for cooperation in the uncrewed realm. On the other hand, the Australian government specifically refers to the MQ-28 as a CCA, something that would not apply to the Triton, for example. It's also worth noting that an MQ-28 has been in the United States for some time, for testing, and this and the MQ-25 demonstrator have been sighted together at MidAmerica Airport outside of St. Louis, Missouri. As you can read about here, the first photos of a Ghost Bat in the United States, which were published by Boeing in 2023, showed the two drones side-by-side at this location, also pointing to potential crossover with the Navy's MQ-25. In particular, the MQ-25 program will feed into Navy CCA efforts in terms of developing the infrastructure required to operate fixed-wing drones on a regular basis from carrier decks. TWZ has reached out to the Australian Defense Department's representative in Washington, DC, to find out more about the Navy's relationship with the MQ-28. However, the U.S. Navy is clearly looking at the MQ-28, even if only on a test and evaluation basis. However, based on the versatility of the design and the fact that Boeing has already explored, at some level, what it would take to make it carrier-compatible, the drone could well be of deeper interest to the Navy as it sets about defining its CCA requirements. Contact the author: thomas@
Al Arabiya
26-03-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Australia's vast geography will drive shift to uncrewed defense systems: Officials
Australia's military will rely more on autonomous systems to overcome the disadvantage of having to protecting vast geography, said defense officials who predicted 'friction in the system' as the balance tipped towards uncrewed systems. Australia's air force is working with Boeing to develop an autonomous combat aircraft called Ghost Bat. Speaking at the Australian International Air Show on Wednesday, Chief of Air Force Stephen Chappell said the Ghost Bat will this year demonstrate its capability and test payloads 'with the exception of it being armed', before making recommendations to government. 'For us, autonomous platforms allow us to scale, so this is not about replacing crewed platforms, it is about providing greater scale and sustainability, and also increasing lethality and effects, and increasing survivability, particularly for crewed platforms or our defense personnel,' he added. Ninh Dong, chief of air and maritime at Australia's Defense Science and Technology Group, said Australia had a vast coastline and 2 million to 3 million square kilometers (772,000 to 1.2 million square miles) of northern ocean that need to be defended, and was looking for innovations that 'overcome this asymmetric disadvantage of distance.' Autonomy and AI that are changing warfare globally will be important, and Australia has made hypersonic missiles a priority, Dong said. 'By holding adversaries at risk further away from Australian shores, they give us more time to respond to threats,' he said of such missiles. Allan Hagstrom, director of combat futures at Air Force Headquarters, said expensive aircraft will need to integrate with cheaper technology, and autonomous projects are already causing 'friction in the system' as defense forces reorganize. 'We are on that cusp where we are probably going to see in the next few years, the weight of crewed platforms and uncrewed platforms and the ratio shifting, and outnumbered by uncrewed platforms enabled by autonomy,' he said. The challenges included how to work collaboratively with other countries, as each nation makes decisions on the role of humans in the 'optimal solution.' 'We are not talking about taking the human out of the technological solution, but how do we leverage the human and the machine to provide the optimal solution,' he added.
