Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat (Boeing image) US Air Force hopes to learn from Australia’s robotic wingmen efforts as it pursues collaborative combat aircraft The Royal Australian Air Force's Ghost Bat drone is expected to enter the fleet by 2025. Mar 20, 2023 By Mikayla Easley
An XQ-58A Valkyrie low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle launches at the Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., Dec. 9, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua King) ‘Live, live, die’ — How the Air Force plans to authorize robotic wingmen to attack targets The future drones are expected to be more autonomous than today’s drones and operate as part of a team with manned fighter jets and other aircraft. Nov 18, 2022 By Jon Harper
Then Lt. Gen. Ken Wilsbach, smiles in his F-22 Raptor before his final flight as commander of the Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Region and Eleventh Air Force, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 20, 2018. (U.S. Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña) Pacific Air Forces working through operating concepts for robotic wingmen The Air Force plans to field new drones, or “collaborative combat aircraft,” to serve as force multipliers and keep pilots out of harm’s way. Sep 19, 2022 By Jon Harper
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., speaks with Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, Royal Air Force Chief of the Air Staff, during a trilateral meeting that also included Gen. Stéphane Mille, French Air and Space Force Chief of Staff, at RAF Fairford, England, July 15, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eugene Oliver) Air Force eyeing potential allied contributions of robotic wingmen Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown sees unmanned collaborative combat aircraft as the wave of the future. Sep 16, 2022 By Jon Harper
An XQ-58A Valkyrie low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle launches at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., Dec. 9, 2020. The flight successfully demonstrated the ability of new communications data to exchange information with an F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua King) Air Force considering wide range of options to team robotic wingmen with other platforms The Air Force plans to develop “collaborative combat aircraft” in the coming years and link them with crewed systems. Aug 29, 2022 By Jon Harper
An Air Force Research Lab conceptual design for an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (Artwork courtesy of AFRL) Air Force sees 2 business models for integrating robotic wingmen into combat formations The Air Force plans to acquire interoperable robotic wingmen that it can “mix and match” with a variety of manned aircraft. Jun 3, 2022 By Jon Harper