On the first day of the new year, Defense Weekly revealed that the US Air Force is accelerating an ambitious plan to create a companion fleet of 1,000 drones to fly with stealth fighters and perform a variety of dangerous and complex missions. However, at the same time that the US Air Force is pouring huge sums of money on this, China has made public its own unmanned wingman project, showing off a stealth drone with amazing performance, overshadowing the US Air Force's plans. How powerful is this drone, and can it defeat the U.S. drone companion fleet in future air battles? Let's take a look!
The U.S. Air Force's drone companion fleet program
The U.S. Air Force's drone companion fleet program refers to the use of drones as "loyal wingmen" for manned fighters to provide support and protection. The drones, known as Cooperative Combat Aircraft (CCAs), are designed to fly alongside the F-35 and future Next Generation Air Dominance Platforms (NGADs). The U.S. Air Force expects these drones to perform a variety of tasks, including striking enemy targets, conducting surveillance, jamming enemy signals, and even acting as decoys.
US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said that the fleet could eventually exceed 1,000 drones, and each NGAD and F-35 will be equipped with two CCAs. Kendall said drones will complement and improve the performance of manned fighters and significantly reduce the risks to pilots. He also said that the deployment of CCAs to future squadrons is a top priority to ensure victory in future conflicts.
In order to achieve this plan, the US Air Force needs to do more research on how autonomous flight works and how it can be incorporated into the daily operations of the unit. The U.S. Air Force's proposed 2024 budget calls for nearly $50 million to test autonomous software on F-16 fighter jets in a project called Project VENOM. Another $69 million will be used to launch a team of experimental operational units that will begin developing tactics and procedures for incorporating CCAs into the squadron.
Project Venom, which stands for "Viper Experiment and Next Generation Operating Model," loads autonomous code into six F-16 fighter jets. The fighters will be taken off by human pilots from the air experiment area, where autonomous flight software will take over. The U.S. Air Force hopes that these experiments will show whether autonomous flight, as envisaged by the CCAs concept, can bring the expected benefits.
The US Air Force is also using the Boeing MQ-28 Phantom Bat as an experimental aircraft, taking them off in combination with manned aircraft and giving Air Force personnel practical experience. Kendall said the U.S. Air Force also wanted CCAs to be cheap enough to be "durable," meaning the service would be able to withstand some losses in combat. According to him, the cost of CCAs could be about a quarter to a third of that of the F-35, suggesting that they could be between $20 million and $27 million.
The US Air Force hopes to produce the first batch of CCAs in a few years, after which they will be put into service in "reasonable quantities". The U.S. Air Force has discussed the concept of CCAs with several defense companies, and procurement could take years, Kendall said.
China's unmanned wingman project
In stark contrast to the U.S. Air Force's grand drone program, China's unmanned wingman program is a low-key but significantly ahead. China's FH97A project aims to use drones as "loyal wingmen" for manned fighters, playing a key role in support and protection. The drone flies in tandem with the J-20 and future Next Generation Air Dominance Platform (NGAD) to deliver impressive performance. China expects the FH97A to be capable of a variety of tasks, including striking enemy targets, performing surveillance missions, jamming enemy signals, and even acting as a tactical decoy.
China's FH97A unmanned wingman made its public debut in September 2021, showcasing its amazing performance and form factor. THE FH97A MAY BE MORE THAN 15 METERS LONG AND HAS A RANGE OF MORE THAN 4000 KILOMETERS, WITH A STEALTH DESIGN, A V-TAIL AND LAMBDA WINGS, AND A SHAPE VERY SIMILAR TO THE AMERICAN MQ28 GHOST, BUT THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES AND ADVANTAGES.
The FH97A is a twin-engine design with a circular nozzle, and its maximum speed may exceed the speed of sound, even reaching Mach 1.4 2, which means that its speed and maneuverability are higher than those of the MQ28 GHOST, which is beneficial for it to work in tandem with high-speed fighters, and also for it to gain an advantage in air combat. The nose of the FH97A has a radome and an optoelectronic sighting system, which can provide a field of view similar to that of a fighter pilot2, which facilitates it for situational awareness and target locking. The FH97A's weapons bay has a "drawer" design that can carry up to 8 small intelligent infrared air-to-air missiles2, which means that its firepower is much higher than that of the MQ28 GHOST, which is conducive to its usefulness in air combat.
The data link between the FH97A and the manned fighter is connected to achieve cross-platform interoperability. However, due to the ever-changing battlefield situation, unmanned wingmen also need to have a certain degree of autonomous decision-making ability to cope with the complex air combat environment. At present, China's level in the field of artificial intelligence has surpassed that of the United States, and the unmanned wingman is also more intelligent, and may show stronger combat effectiveness in actual combat.
From the above analysis, it can be seen that China's FH97A unmanned wingman is superior to the American MQ28 GHOST UAV in terms of size, range, speed, maneuverability, forward stealth capability, firepower and situational awareness, which reflects China's rapid development and innovation in the field of UAV technology. Compared with the American MQ28 GHOST UAV, China's FH97A has shown a higher level of performance in terms of size, range, speed, maneuverability, forward stealth capability, firepower and situational awareness, which undoubtedly brings great challenges to the US UAV companion program. #军事#