Tag: Loyal Wingman

Drones team with fighter aircraft and help inspect airports

Additional Loyal Wingman jet-powered drones are being developed. Plus, quadcopters are helping calibrate and maintain aviation ground navigation systems.

I’ve previously discussed the Loyal Wingman project. Companies in the United States and Australia are developing unmanned full-scale jet-powered drones t0 fly alongside frontline fighters, and perhaps take on riskier missions.

The Loyal Wingman drones are powered with artificial intelligence developed for the U.S. Air Force Skyborg program.

Programs in other parts of the world are also developing technology for the same fly-along objectives. The United Kingdom has launched the Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA) program, and India is working on the Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Warrior project.

UK LANCA project

The UK usually takes its time progressing with new aviation concepts, but has now awarded a £30 million concept contract to Spirit Aerosystems in Belfast to develop and fly a demonstrator drone by the end of 2023.

Meanwhile, Kratos in the United States and Boeing Australia both have Loyal Wingman UAVs well into flight test programs as part of the Skyborg program. (The first test flight of the Loyal Wingman was successfully completed in February.) Nevertheless, the LANCA schedule should mesh with that of the UK’s next-generation fighter program, known as Tempest, which is just getting started.

Computer rendering of the United Kingdom’s Mosquito drone concept. (Credit: UK Defense Department)

Spirit Belfast is the Irish subsidiary of Spirit AeroSystems (Wichita, Kansas), previously owned by Bombardier (Montreal, Canada) and, before that, Shorts Brothers, Belfast. Spirit was previously involved in manufacturing aerostructures and will apply its unique composite resin transfer-infusion technology to build a high-speed capable, lightweight fuselage for the aircraft.

Spirit has formed Team Mosquito, joining Northrop Grumman UK and Intrepid Minds for flight controls and avionics. An engine supplier and developer has yet to be announced.

CATS Warrior project

On the other side of the world, Indian state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has apparently invested significantly since at least 2019 in a program to develop another Loyal Wingman concept, known as the HAL Combat Teaming System Warrior (HAL CATS Warrior). A mockup of the CATS Warrior was on display at Aero India 2021.

While still in the early phase of development, the program appears to be well into the major undertaking by HAL and its partner Newspace R&D. HAL has been the indigenous aircraft manufacturer for the Indian Air Force since the late 1940s, with facilities in Bangalore and with more than 25,000 employees.

The design goals for the Warrior drone appear to mirror those of the programs in the United States and the United Kingdom — to create an independent, autonomous, unmanned vehicle that can be teamed alongside frontline fighter aircraft as an expendable force multiplier.

Flight inspection drones

While we’re on the topic of aviation, let’s pull back to more current unmanned applications. News has emerged of a drone being used to inspect a landing-aid system in Russia. Aviation authorities in many countries spend lots of time and money on verifying and calibrating new and existing ground-based landing and navigation aids, to the point of equipping general aviation aircraft with extensive instrumentation and dedicating them to regularly checking key airport and en-route systems.

This is an expensive and lengthy task — all the way from buying, maintaining and operating aircraft to equipping each flying laboratory and maintaining complex onboard equipment, as well as training and employing skilled pilots and equipment operators.

The Cursir nav-aid inspection drone. (Photo: Cursir)

Cursir in Russia has installed a specialized radio receiver on a commercial drone and used it to pre-configure a newly installed instrument landing system (ILS) at the Ulyanovsk-Vostochny airport, where difficult terrain makes the initial set-up of the ILS quite complex.

However, by using this calibration drone, set-up time was significantly reduced and adequate preparations were made for subsequent control flights by a fully equipped flight inspection aircraft. Even though these formal flights were still required, calibration of the ILS was less involved and fewer flights were necessary.

In the future, maintenance checks using only the calibration drone may be possible. Drones have also been in use for complete NAVAID inspection for some time, with companies including Canard in Spain and Colibrex in Germany.

Canard’s drones undertake flight inspection of runway lighting, ILS and other airport NAVAIDS. It uses a database of airports, runways and systems for flight planning, autonomous drone operations and analysis/reporting of collected data. Canard was founded in 2015, and its first flight inspection contract was in 2017 for seven European airports.

The Canard flight inspection drone. (Photo: Canard)

Colibrex built its own COL-X8 NavAidDrone in order to better integrate its in-house flight inspection receivers and antennas. The requirement for flight inspection is to accurately evaluate the signal-in-space being transmitted by the NAVAID, so Colibrex invested heavily in the development of its on-board RF reception and in-house results analysis systems. Early trials were first run in 2012, through many different measurement campaigns around the world; Colibrex has now established an extensive drone flight inspection capability.

The Colibrex NAVAID drone. (Photo: Colibrex)

To sum up, more Loyal Wingman jet-powered drones are in development, and perhaps we now have a little insight into how quadcopters are being used to calibrate and maintain aviation ground navigation systems. These are just a couple more innovative applications for unmanned aircraft.

Tony Murfin
GNSS Aerospace

August 17, 2021
Seen & Heard: Greenhouse pest drone, COVID-19 vaccination drop

“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.

Screenshot: PATS Indoor Drone Solutions video

Seeking out (tiny) aerial threats

Palm-sized drones are eliminating greenhouse pests in the Netherlands, reports the Associated Press. The drones seek out and destroy moths that produce crop-eating caterpillars. Tech startup PATS Indoor Drone Solutions uses drones as greenhouse sentinels. Cameras scan the airspace, and then steer the drones to fly into moths, destroying them in midair. The drone control system can distinguish between good and bad insects. The system is the brainchild of former students from the Delft University of Technology.

Photo: Skydio

Coming soon to a police department near you

Drone-maker Skydio claims to be shipping the most advanced artificial intelligence-powered drone ever built, reports Forbes. The Skydio X2 is scheduled to launch later this year. The quadcopter reportedly can latch onto targets and follow them, dodging all sorts of obstacles and capturing everything on high-quality video. It can fly in tight, tactical situations, such as inside buildings or through a forest. Skydio claims its software can even predict a target’s next move, whether pedestrian or vehicle. American-made, the Skydio is popular with police departments and is often used for defense.

The Loyal Wingman in its first test flight. (Photo: U.S. Air Force 88th Air Wing Public Affairs)

Fighter jets to get a sidekick

A military drone that will accompany fighter jets into combat flew its maiden voyage at the end of February. The Loyal Wingman, designed by Boeing Australia for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), uses artificial intelligence to target enemies. The Loyal Wingman is about the same size as the F-35 jet it will fly alongside. It has a range of 3,700 kilometers. The plane was flown from the ground control station at the Woomera Range Complex in the outback. The RAAF plans to buy three of the drones.

Photo: Zipline

COVID-19 vaccinations air-dropped in Ghana

Ghana has launched a nationwide program that uses Zipline drones to deliver coronavirus vaccines to rural communities. Deliveries began March 2 under the COVAX program of the World Health Organization (WHO), which aims to provide poorer countries with enough doses to cover 20% of their populations. Zipline has been delivering medical supplies (blood, personal protective equipment, vaccines) since 2016 using its patented, autonomous drones.

March 25, 2021
Search-and-rescue drone debuts, FAA issues remote ID rule
It’s hard to pick out an outstanding story or two this month from the dozens of new or related drone initiatives that bombard my inbox. But there’s always some that stand out, needing emphasis. This month, we look at these developments:
- NEC Laboratories Europe introduces a potential drone solution for finding disaster victims
- The FAA issues its remote ID rule, which also enables flight over people and nighttime operations
- The Boeing Loyal Wingman succeeds with its maiden flight in Australia.
Search-and-rescue drone

Finding survivors is a primary task for first responders in disaster situations, so if a feasible approach using drones looks possible, its something we should prove out and implement quickly. Researchers at NEC Laboratories Europe, based in Germany, have come up with a drone shown to be able to locate a person’s cell phone — it works better in open situations, but takes longer and is less accurate when there are obstructions.

The Search-and-Rescue Drone (SARDO). (Photo: NEC Labs/Antonio Albany)

The concept of the search-and-rescue drone (SARDO) is basically to hang cellphone-tower electronics on the drone, and then let it self-triangulate on the return signal from the victim’s phone. So if you know where you are and estimate distance by pinging the victim’s phone and measuring the transit time, then move a known distance and repeat, eventually you converge on the phone’s location.

Putting all that into reliable flying algorithms is something; proving that your design works is significantly more tricky. Overcoming signal blockage due to debris brings another level of complexity, as does tracking the victim if he or she is moving.

But this looks like a great initiative which should be developed further — a possible boon for finding people in earthquakes and other building-collapse situations.

FAA Remote ID Rule issued

Image: ConceptCafe/iStock/Getty Images Plus

On Jan. 15, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finally issued its rules for remote ID: All UAVs greater than 0.55 pounds must transmit unique identifications. Although, it appears that even these lighter drones might also have to be capable of remote ID if operated commercially. The broadcast message has to include “identification, location, and performance information of the unmanned aircraft and its control station.”

The good news is that there are now several potential suppliers of these broadcast modules. The rules allow for an implementation period that stretches out another 18 or 30 months — UAV manufacturers have 18 months to comply, while drone operators have 30 months.

The rules also allow drone operators to fly their UAVs over people. There are four categories of drone, each with appropriate restrictions — all seemingly related to the injuries an out-of-control or falling drone could cause to a person. All such operations require that the FAA approve a written statement of compliance with these safety rules.

The rules will certainly help with coverage of spectator sports such as the Super Bowl and regular outdoor events like PGA golf tournaments. It would appear that the Golf Channel and CBS have already begun to broadcast drone coverage of recent golf events. Such operations needing to verify their compliance now, rather than over the implementation period.

And, of course, if you can fly over people, transiting over vehicles is now allowed. With an anti-collision light installed, night operations are also permitted once compliance is approved.

Photo: Boeing Australia

Loyal Wingman’s first flight

After three years of development, Boeing Australia got its Loyal Wingman unmanned aircraft off the ground on Feb. 27. The Loyal Wingman is sponsored by Boeing and the Australian RAAF.

The UAV/UAS is also referred to as the Airpower Teaming System (ATS), and should likely be considered a contender for the U.S. Air Force Skyborg manned-unmanned teaming program. At least two other companies involved with the Skyborg program are already flying similar vehicles — Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.

Summary

Anything that helps first responders find survivors in disasters is a good idea to take to users in the field as soon as possible, so the NEC Laboratories Europe initiatives is a welcome opportunity.

After more than two years to get the final rules published, the FAA is finally coming online with its Remote ID rule — even though it entails significant work on operators’ parts over the next several months for them to implement. But the window now seems to be significantly wider for them to be able to take on more viable commercial business ventures.

Finally, it’s good to see the Boeing ATS get into the air — the first aircraft in 50 years to be wholly built in Australia, with interest not only from the Australian RAAF, but also with potential participation in the USAF Skyborg program.
March 17, 2021
Boeing Loyal Wingman uncrewed aircraft completes first flight

Photo: Boeing Australia

Successful test progresses Royal Australian Air Force’s teaming aircraft program

Boeing Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) successfully completed the first test flight of the Loyal Wingman uncrewed aircraft on Feb. 27.

The flight of the first military aircraft to be designed and manufactured in Australia in more than 50 years flew under the supervision of a Boeing test pilot monitoring the aircraft from a ground control station at the Woomera Range Complex in the South Australian outback.

“The Loyal Wingman’s first flight is a major step in this long-term, significant project for the Air Force and Boeing Australia, and we’re thrilled to be a part of the successful test,” said Air Vice-Marshal Cath Roberts, RAAF head of Air Force Capability. “The Loyal Wingman project is a pathfinder for the integration of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence to create smart human-machine teams. “Through this project we are learning how to integrate these new capabilities to complement and extend air combat and other missions,” she said.

Following a series of taxi tests validating ground handling, navigation and control, and pilot interface, the aircraft completed a successful takeoff under its own power before flying a predetermined route at different speeds and altitudes to verify flight functionality and demonstrate the performance of the Airpower Teaming System design.

“Boeing and Australia are pioneering fully integrated combat operations by crewed and uncrewed aircraft,” said Boeing Defense, Space & Security President and CEO Leanne Caret. “We’re honored to be opening this part of aviation’s future with the Royal Australian Air Force, and we look forward to showing others how they also could benefit from our loyal wingman capabilities.”

With support from more than 35 Australian industry teams and leveraging Boeing’s innovative processes, including model-based engineering techniques, such as a digital twin to digitally flight-test missions, the team was able to manufacture the aircraft from design to flight in three years.

This first Loyal Wingman aircraft is serving as the foundation for the Boeing Airpower Teaming System being developed for various global defense customers. The aircraft will fly alongside other platforms, using artificial intelligence to team with existing crewed and uncrewed assets to complement mission capabilities.

Additional Loyal Wingman aircraft are under development, with plans for teaming flights scheduled for later this year.

March 7, 2021