In a first, Boeing-Australian Air Force complete flight test on 'Pilotless Fighter-like Jet'

NewsBharati    02-Mar-2021
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Canberra, Mar 2: Boeing Co and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) declared on Mar 2 that they had completed the first flight test on a pilotless fighter-like jet. The jet that Boeing Co has designed, means to operate in conjunction with crewed aircraft. The Australian govt has invested A$40 million (31 million USD) for developing the product. At the same time, Boeing has also announced that the product could be customized for other global customers.

 
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The Pilotless Fighter-like Jet has been named the 'Loyal Wingman,' which is the first military aircraft that has been designed and manufactured in more than 50 years in Australia. The 'Loyal Wingman' made its flight under the supervision of Boeing test pilot, who was monitoring it from the ground control station located in South Australia. The aircraft has also attracted interest from the United States as well as the United Kingdom.
 
The Loyal Wingman took off using its own power, during the test flight, before it flew to a predetermined route at different speeds and altitudes. The aircraft was tested at different speeds and altitudes in order to verify the functionality of the aircraft and to demonstrate performance of its design.
 
 
The newly developed pilotless jet is a 38 feet long aircraft, with an active range of 2,000 nautical mile, that is around 3,700 km range. The nose of the aircraft can be removed to fit various payloads and weapons. It can also act like a shield to protect several expensive manned fighter jets. The project is a pathfinder to integrate autonomous systems and artificial intelligence, in order to create smart human-machine teams. The first Loyal Wingman is being used as the foundation for Airpower Teaming System of Boeing. It is a service which is being developed for several global defence customers.