Avionics International reports, “Honeywell, a supplier of avionics systems, and Merlin, a small company developing software for autonomous military aviation, have partnered to bring more autonomy to military and commercial aircraft. The initial focus of the partnership will be fixed-wing military aircraft, the companies said on Thursday. ”
Full Story (Avionics International)
Tag: Autonomous Flight
MQ-4C Triton Makes Five Hour Flight Within the Arctic Circle, Validates Navigation Capability
The Aviationist reports, “Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) surveillance and intelligence UAV ‘successfully demonstrated’ its ‘navigation system’s ability to operate at high latitudes deep within the Arctic Circle,’ the company said in a release on Sep. 19, 2024.”
Full Story (The Aviationist)
Air Force Asks for Increased Funding for Drone Wingmen Program
Breaking Defense reports, “A reprogramming request recently submitted to Capitol Hill by the Pentagon asks for permission to shift an additional $150 million into the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, a budget increase of nearly 40 percent.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
Unmanned Valkyrie X-58A Joins F-35s in Electronic Attack Demonstration
Defense Daily reports, “An XQ-58A Valkyrie autonomous unmanned combat aircraft equipped with an electronic attack payload successfully demonstrated suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) capabilities with two F-35 fighters in a recent live flight test event at Eglin AFB, Fla., Kratos…”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
Boeing to Invest In Long-Term MQ-28 Production in Australia
Aviation Week Network reports, “Boeing will launch construction in Australia later this year of the company’s first final assembly facility outside of North America in a move that commits to further production of the MQ-28 Ghost Bat beyond the first 13 aircraft ordered so far by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
General Atomics’ XQ-67A Makes First Flight
Defense One reports, “General Atomics’ new air combat drone has flown, another step toward what the Air Force is calling the ‘first of a second generation’ of autonomous aircraft.” First flight occurred February 28 from “General Atomics’ Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale California, AFRL officials announced.”
Full Story (Defense One)
Video
General Atomics introduces its XQ-67A
(General Atomics; YouTube)
Reliable Robotics Completes Study for USAF Examining Autonomous Flight
Aviation Week reports that Reliable Robotics “has completed a study for the U.S. Air Force examining retrofitting the service’s large multi-engine jets with its autonomous flight control technology and says only ‘modest’ changes would be needed to accommodate its systems.” The study “did not focus on any specific airframe.”
Full Story (Aviation Week – Subscription Publication)
Helicopter Business Leaders Set Stage for EVOTLs
Aviation International News reported that rotorcraft industry leaders “addressing the Helicopter Investor conference this week in London expressed measured optimism over prospects for the emerging advanced air mobility sector.” Their shared belief is that “new eVTOL aircraft will start to be used for some current helicopter use cases, albeit most speakers expressed doubt that this will start happening from 2025, as many of the more bullish market entrants are insisting.” Companies like Lobo Leasing have added promised to add eVOTL aircraft to their offerings, with Lobo already having placed a down payment on Pipistrel’s Nuuva autonomous cargo vehicles.
Full Story (Aviation International News)
Video
Pipistel’s Nuuva V300
A revolutionary long-range large-capacity heavy-weight autonomous eVTOL UAV for aerial cargo delivery.
(Pipistrel Aircraft; YouTube)
Air Force Considers Two Business Models for Integrating Robotic Wingmen
FedScoop reported that the US Air Force “plans to create a ‘family of systems’ for its Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, which aims to develop a stealthy sixth-generation fighter as well as drones – also referred to as autonomous ‘collaborative combat aircraft’ (CCA) – and various mission systems that could accompany them into battle. The service has outlined a similar vision for the B-21 Raider, its next-gen stealth bomber.” US Air Force Secretary Special Assistant Tim Grayson said the US Air Force will be “trying to take multiple capabilities from within a family of systems and execute them within a program office, but not as a single rigid, monolithically integrated platform, while at the same time having different program offices building different pieces of the solution that can still be interoperable and work together.”
Full Story (FedScoop)
RAAF Designates Loyal Wingman as MQ-28A Ghost Bat
Aviation Week reports that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has “designated the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, or Loyal Wingman, as the MQ-28A Ghost Bat. The naming is another milestone for the program as it continues development and testing.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)