{"id":3880,"date":"2019-02-26T20:15:37","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T02:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planesintheair.com\/?p=3880"},"modified":"2019-02-26T20:15:43","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T02:15:43","slug":"boeing-unveils-unmanned-combat-jet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/?p=3880","title":{"rendered":"Boeing Unveils Unmanned Combat Jet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AVALON,\n Australia (Reuters) – Boeing Co on Wednesday unveiled an unmanned, \nfighter-like jet developed in Australia and designed to fly alongside \ncrewed aircraft in combat for a fraction of the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n U.S. manufacturer hopes to sell the multi-role aircraft, which is 38 \nfeet long (11.6 metres) and has a 2,000 nautical mile (3,704 kilometre) \nrange, to customers around the world, modifying it as requested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n prototype is Australia’s first domestically developed combat aircraft \nsince World War II and Boeing’s biggest investment in unmanned systems \noutside the United States, although the company declined to specify the \ndollar amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n Australian government is investing A$40 million ($28.75 million) in the\n prototype programme due to its “enormous capability for exports,” \nMinister for Defence Christopher Pyne told reporters at the Australian \nInternational Airshow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defence\n contractors are investing increasingly in autonomous technology as \nmilitaries around the world look for a cheaper and safer way to maximise\n their resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boeing rivals like Lockheed Martin Corp and Kratos Defence and Security Solutions Inc are also investing in such aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four\n to six of the new aircraft, called the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, \ncan fly alongside a F\/A-18E\/F Super Hornet, said Shane Arnott, director \nof Boeing research and prototype arm Phantom Works International.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“To\n bring that extra component and the advantage of unmanned capability, \nyou can accept a higher level of risk,” he said. “It is better for one \nof these to take a hit than for a manned platform.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies in the United States said last\n year that the U.S. Air Force should explore pairing crewed and uncrewed\n aircraft to expand its fleet and complement a limited number of \n“exquisite, expensive, but highly potent fifth-generation aircraft” like\n the F-35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Human\n performance factors are a major driver behind current aerial combat \npractices,” the policy paper said. “Humans can only pull a certain \nnumber of G’s, fly for a certain number of hours, or process a certain \namount of information at a given time.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MULTI-MISSION CAPABILITIES<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n addition to performing like a fighter jet, other roles for the Boeing \nsystem include electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance and \nreconnaissance alongside aircraft like the P-8 Poseidon and E-7 \nWedgetail, said Kristin Robertson, vice president and general manager of\n Boeing Autonomous Systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\n is operationally very flexible, modular, multi-mission,” she said. “It \nis a very disruptive price point. Fighter-like capability at a fraction \nof the cost.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robertson declined to comment on the cost, saying that it would depend on the configuration chosen by individual customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n jet is powered by a derivative of a commercially available engine, uses\n standard runways for take-off and landing, and can be modified for \ncarrier operations at sea, Robertson said. She declined to specify \nwhether it could reach supersonic speeds, common for modern fighter \naircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its\n first flight is expected in 2020, with Boeing and the Australian \ngovernment producing a concept demonstrator to pave the way for full \nproduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\n would say we are some years away from exports, we are probably years \naway from it being in operation here in Australia,” Pyne said. “It is \ndesigned to be a cheaper platform, a shield if you like around the more \nexpensive platforms, to protect our servicemen and women who might be on\n a Poseidon or a Wedgetail or a F-35A.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australia,\n a staunch U.S. ally, is home to Boeing’s largest footprint outside the \nUnited States and has vast airspace with relatively low traffic for \nflight testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n Boeing Airpower Teaming System will be manufactured in Australia, but \nproduction lines could be set up in other countries depending on sales, \nArnott said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States, which has the world’s biggest military budget, would be among the natural customers for the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n U.S. Air Force 2030 project foresees the Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint \nStrike Fighter working together with stealthy combat drones, called the \n“Loyal Wingman” concept, said Derrick Maple, principal analyst for \nunmanned systems at IHS Markit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The\n U.S. has more specific plans for the wingman concept, but Western \nEurope will likely develop their requirements in parallel, to abate the \ncapabilities of China and the Russian Federation and other potential \nthreats,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robertson\n declined to name potential customers and would not comment on potential\n stealth properties, but said the aircraft had the potential to sell \nglobally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We\n didn’t design this as a point solution but a very flexible solution \nthat we could outfit with payloads, sensors, different mission sets to \ncomplement whatever their fleet is,” she said. “Don’t think of it as a \nspecific product that is tailored to do only one mission.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

($1 = 1.3914 Australian dollars)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Reporting by Jamie Freed; additional reporting by Gerry Doyle; editing by Gerry Doyle)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boeing Co on Wednesday unveiled an unmanned, fighter-like jet developed in Australia and designed to fly alongside crewed aircraft in combat for a fraction of the cost. The U.S. manufacturer hopes to sell the multi-role aircraft, which is 38 feet long <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,799,1836,2203,1397,868],"tags":[464,3579,1279,1480,876,3108,41,1183,655,1400,3353,1844,2020,3583,1102,1503,1184,361,2438,1666,199,589,3580,78,1100,889,412,1636,3582,1638,3110,1668,1288,2998,3578,1817,1667,1177,1149,3581,1093,1271,1564,3584,2644,2755],"class_list":["post-3880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation-news","category-boeing-news","category-defense-news","category-finance-news","category-stock-news","category-transportation-news","tag-aircraft","tag-airpower","tag-airshow","tag-australia","tag-australian","tag-autonomous","tag-boeing","tag-combat","tag-company","tag-contractor","tag-crew","tag-defence","tag-development","tag-e-7","tag-f-35","tag-f-a-18","tag-fighter","tag-hornet","tag-ii","tag-intelligence","tag-international","tag-jet","tag-kratos","tag-lockheed","tag-martin","tag-military","tag-news","tag-p-8","tag-phantom","tag-poseidon","tag-prototype","tag-reconnaissance","tag-reuters","tag-security","tag-solution","tag-super","tag-surveillance","tag-system","tag-systems","tag-teaming","tag-technology","tag-unmanned","tag-war","tag-wedgetail","tag-works","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3880"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3883,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3880\/revisions\/3883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}