Unmanned Aerial Vehicle The latest drone news
If you were still under the impression that the Loyal Wingman fighter plane-like drone developed in Australia was just Boeing showing off its skill, think again: the company is determined to make the thing a reality above the world’s battlefields.
“Our investment in this advanced manufacturing project will provide critical skills for suppliers, academia and Boeing, and culminate in Queensland becoming the primary final assembly facility for the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, conditional on orders,” said in a statement the state’s Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
“Supporting this project is a significant investment in the Queensland defence and manufacturing industries and will strengthen ties between Australia and the global defence market.”
The Loyal Wingman as it’s called for now is Boeing’s largest investment in a new unmanned aircraft program outside the United States, and the first such major military project to be developed in Australia in over 50 years.
When operational, it will be capable of autonomously fulfilling a variety of roles, from surveillance and reconnaissance to electronic warfare, alongside planes with pilots or all alone. One of its main advantages is that it can rapidly switch between these roles, adapting to whatever needs arise. Technically, the drone can be controlled by humans on the ground, but it has also been designed to perform some of its tasks on its own as well.
The first time we heard about the project was in 2019. It moved very rapidly through development stages and just completed the engine power-up earlier in September.
