Defense News reports that the US Air Force “is ramping up plans for incorporating drone wingmen into its fleet, and envisions 1,000 of the so-called collaborative combat aircraft in service as it sketches out ideas.” USAF Secretary Frank Kendall said the service will request congressional funding in 2024 for the CCA program so it can map out operations, organization, and support for the new systems, including the Next Generation Air Dominance program of futuristic fighter aircraft.
Full Story (Defense News)
Tag: flight tests
US Air Force to Field Loyal Wingman UAVs
FlightGlobal reports that the US Air Force “is ready to move beyond experimentation with unmanned combat aircraft and toward acquiring and fielding the next-generation unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said, “We are going to take a period of time to sort all that out and then we are going to get onto something that we are going to field. It’s a commitment to going forward in a direction that we have been thinking about and experimenting with but haven’t committed to before. So, that’s a major change actually.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)
Second Loyal Wingman UAV Performs Flight Tests
Aviation Week reports that a second Boeing Airpower Teaming System (ATS), “better known as the Loyal Wingman, has commenced flight tests at Australia’s Woomera Range Complex, including the raising and lower of the undercarriage.” Both UAVs “are performing separate flight tests.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
FAA Administrator to Test Fly Boeing 737 MAX This Week
Airways reported that on Friday, the FAA “confirmed that the Boeing 737 MAX will undergo flight tests next week, including one piloted by FAA Administrator and former Delta Air Lines (DL) Pilot Steve Dickson.” In a statement, the FAA said that Dickson and FAA Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell “will be in Seattle” this week “to take the recommended training that the JOEB (Joint Operations Evaluation Board) evaluated. Following the simulator training, Administrator Dickson is tentatively scheduled to pilot a Boeing 737 MAX on September 30, 2020, fulfilling his promise to fly the aircraft before the FAA approves its return to service.”
Full Story (Airways)