China often "quietly does a big thing", so once there is news about China, it is easy for the United States to change its taste. For example, in mid-December 2023, the mainland launched a reusable experimental spacecraft, but the United States was extremely sensitive.
[Official report on China's launch of reusable experimental spacecraft]
According to the U.S., their astronomers said that the space plane launched by China released six mysterious objects near orbit four days after entering space, and based on follow-up tracking observations, it found electromagnetic wave signals, which the United States deliberately described as a "space wingman."
This was followed by a series of tirades about China's reusable space vehicles, always consciously or unconsciously associated with military use.
What is a "space wingman"? Where is its military value? Why is the United States so sensitive?
What is a space wingman
There is currently no official definition of a space wingman, but according to the United States, it is a "concept that emulates the concept of a 'loyal wingman' drone that acts in tandem with a manned flight."
[Loyal wingman in line with the trend of modern warfare]
In other words, the so-called space wingman is essentially a derivative of the concept of a loyal wingman.
The most important feature of a loyal wingman is its ability to work together, maintaining close contact with manned fighters through advanced datalink technology, being able to receive commands from fighters and respond immediately, or autonomously perform combat missions according to preset mission objectives.
This seamless cooperative combat capability enables loyal wingmen to carry out fast and effective decision support and mission execution in complex battlefield environments, greatly expanding the battlefield perception and combat range of manned fighters.
Most importantly, the introduction of loyal wingmen has increased the diversity and tactical resilience of military operations.
In the future development of warfare, the application of UAV technology continues to expand, and loyal wingmen can carry out modular weapon configuration and rapid adjustment of combat missions according to different battlefield needs.
They also provide manned aircraft with a means of distracting the enemy's attention and reducing risks, increasing the difficulty of the enemy's judgment and response.
In addition, there are many practical uses for the loyal wingman, and it is not difficult to see that its future application prospects are extremely broad.
Of course, for many friends, the concept of loyal wingman sounds relatively unfamiliar and feels a bit sci-fi, but many countries have unveiled their loyal wingmen or models.
Space wingmen are more advanced
The United States was the first country to test the loyalty wingman and was the first to come up with the concept.
The XQ-58A "Valkyrie" UAV developed by the United States has carried out its first flight in 2019, and has since conducted joint tests with F22 and F35 respectively.
On the other hand, the Russian S70 Hunter B is considered to be the core component of the loyal wingman (some say the prototype of the sixth-generation aircraft).
So far, little is known about this drone, but it should not be too high for the level of Russian drones.
【S70 Hunter B】
India also has a loyal wingman, called the "Black Cat Warrior", and many of the technologies are too "advanced", which makes China, the United States and Russia look at it and call it "enough for India".
China's loyal wingman was unveiled in 2022, codenamed "Feihong", also known as the FH-97A loyal wingman.
This loyal wingman adopts an air intake and aerodynamic layout similar to that of the J-20, but has a lower fuselage, and from this point of view, its concealment and penetration capabilities should be relatively good.
In light of China's developments, a public display of loyal wingmen shows that we have made considerable progress in this area, which will be unimaginable for many countries.
In fact, whether it is the American "Valkyrie" or China's "Feihong", it shows a problem, that is, loyal wingmen are becoming a trend.
The concept of space wingman, derived from the loyal wingman, is more novel, which directly transcends the traditional air combat mode, so that a country's deterrent power directly extends to space, and its military value is not insignificant.
Take flight speed as an example, because there is no air resistance in space, the maximum speed of the aircraft is greatly liberated.
The speed of the average aerospace aircraft can exceed Mach 24, let alone how fast an unmanned loyal wingman can be, which is unimaginable if placed on the ground.
An important reason why the United States is so sensitive to China's launch of reusable experimental spacecraft is that it is afraid that China will secretly engage in space wingman technology and then surprise everyone.
At that time, the international position of the United States may be replaced by China, which is something they will stop no matter what.
The United States is too sensitive
Another reason is that the Americans themselves do this, so they know very well how much deterrence space wingmen have.
The United States was one of the first countries to experiment with reusable spacecraft, and because of its experience with space shuttles, they have made rapid progress in the field of developing space planes.
In 2014, the X-37B aerospace fighter developed by the United States had completed more than 674 days of continuous flight in earth orbit.
[X-37B Aerospace Fighter]
During the entire pre-experimental phase, the United States did not disclose any information about the X-37B's experiments.
This phase is often seen as the United States experimenting with a weapon force that could be deployed in space, which could include space wingmen.
On December 28, 2023, the X-37B began its seventh mission, and when it comes to the threat of military use, the United States is probably bigger than anyone else.
In fact, China's test of a reusable spacecraft is actually a normal routine space flight.
The so-called six mysterious objects are considered space wingmen, it's just that the Americans are too sensitive.
After all, as early as 2008, China released a small companion satellite weighing about 40 kilograms in orbit.
The greatest value of a reusable spacecraft is that it can carry supplies and satellites to and from ground orbit and the ground, and it makes sense to release satellites from this experiment.
Since they are satellites, what is the problem with releasing radio signals?
On the contrary, it is the United States that "shouts to catch the thief", forcibly distorts China's civilian technology into the military field, reverses right and wrong, and exaggerates the "China threat theory", which is despicable.
Resources:
[1] Yang Shirui.Reusable spacecraft: the pursuit of low-cost future is worth looking forward to[J].Beijing.Space Exploration.2018
[2] China Aerospace News: "The Mainland Successfully Launches Reusable Test Spacecraft"