• Home
  • News
  • Airbus Unveils Unmanned ‘Wingman’ for Fighter Jets
Aerospace, Business-industry-data-aerospace, Defense, Global, News, Uas

Airbus Unveils Unmanned ‘Wingman’ for Fighter Jets

  • 07 Jun 2024

The future of air combat is taking shape, and it looks like it will increasingly involve a pilot flying alongside an unmanned teammate. At the ILA Berlin Air Show, Airbus will unveil its Wingman concept, a fighter-like drone designed to escort and support manned fighter jets on missions.

Traditionally, a “wingman” refers to a pilot flying a second aircraft in close formation, providing support and protection to the lead aircraft. However, manned fighter jets are expensive assets, and deploying two for every mission is not always feasible. Airbus’ unmanned Wingman concept envisions a highly maneuverable, stealthy drone capable of carrying a variety of weapons. It would be controlled by the pilot of a manned fighter jet, such as the Eurofighter, via a secure data link. This offers a cost-effective solution that can significantly enhance the capabilities of a single manned aircraft.

Airbus will exhibit a 1:1 model of the Wingman at ILA from June 5 to 9. Similar to an automotive concept car, it serves as a design foundation, outlining key capabilities like low observability, weapon integration, advanced sensors, secure connectivity, and collaborative functionalities.

Photo: Airbus

Enhanced Capabilities, Reduced Risk

The Wingman’s tasks can range from reconnaissance to jamming targets and engaging targets on the ground or in the air with precision guided munitions or missiles. Pilots in manned aircraft acting as “command fighters” will always have control of the mission. They are always the final decision-making authority, while benefiting from the protection and smaller risk exposure that the delegation of tactical taskings to unmanned systems offers. An additional focus is on increasing the overall combat mass in an affordable manner so that air forces can match the number of opposing forces in peers or near-peers in conflicts.

The Wingman concept offers several potential benefits for air forces. Firstly, it allows for increased firepower and mission flexibility. With a Wingman carrying additional weapons, a manned fighter can engage a wider range of threats or carry a larger payload for other missions. Additionally, the Wingman can be equipped with specialised sensors, expanding the pilot’s situational awareness and allowing them to focus on critical tasks like target acquisition and engagement. The Wingman can be positioned to take on high-risk tasks, such as electronic warfare or penetrating heavily defended airspace. By delegating these dangerous missions to the unmanned drone, the risk to the pilot and the manned aircraft could be significantly reduced.

Drones as Wingmen in Modern Air Combat

Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space highlighted the Wingman concept as a viable solution for the German Air Force which had expressed a clear need for an unmanned aircraft flying with and supporting missions of its manned fighter jets before the Future Combat Air System will be operational in 2040.

Airbus is not alone in exploring the potential of unmanned fighter escorts. Since 2019, Boeing in collaboration with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has been developing MQ-28A Ghost Bat, commonly known as Loyal Wingman, an advanced unmanned system can fly alongside the existing manned aircraft and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct teaming missions. It is capable of performing surveillance, reconnaissance, and early warning missions.

This emerging trend underscores the growing importance of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) integration into manned fighter operations. As technology advances and operational concepts mature, the future of air combat will see more seamless and coordinated combination of manned and unmanned platforms.

You May Also LikeAAIS

Previous Article
Next Article