AlphaAtlas
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2018
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Yesterday, Boeing introduced a autonomous UAV designed to perform the role of a "loyal wingman to manned platforms." The press release says that the aircraft is about 38 feet long has a range of over 2,000 nauticle miles, while Defense News says it can carry unspecified weapons into combat. It can supposedly be controlled from the ground or the manned aircraft its following, and Boeing also mentioned that it will "Use artificial intelligence to fly independently or in support of manned aircraft while maintaining safe distance between other aircraft." Unfortunately, they stopped short of revealing just how extensive the aircraft's autonomous systems are, what sort of silicon they use for the aircraft's artificial intelligence, or what kind of performance we can expect from the plane. But unlike most other military drones I've seen, this particular airframe seems to be optimized for supersonic (or at least high transonic) travel.
"This aircraft is a historic endeavor for Boeing. Not only is it developed outside the United States, it is also designed so that our global customers can integrate local content to meet their country-specific requirements," said Marc Allen, president, Boeing International. "The Boeing Airpower Teaming System provides a transformational capability in terms of defense, and our customers - led by Australia - effectively become partners on the program with the ability to grow their own sovereign capabilities to support it, including a high-tech workforce." First flight is planned for 2020.
"This aircraft is a historic endeavor for Boeing. Not only is it developed outside the United States, it is also designed so that our global customers can integrate local content to meet their country-specific requirements," said Marc Allen, president, Boeing International. "The Boeing Airpower Teaming System provides a transformational capability in terms of defense, and our customers - led by Australia - effectively become partners on the program with the ability to grow their own sovereign capabilities to support it, including a high-tech workforce." First flight is planned for 2020.