24 September 2021

AFA 2021: AFRL seeks to avoid duplication in unmanned aircraft programmes

by Pat Host

SDB1 bombs connecting during the AFRL's Golden Horde networked collaborative weapons video on display at AFA Winter 2020 on 27 February 2020 in Orlando, Florida. The AFRL is working to avoid duplication among the many unmanned aerial vehicle programmes it is experimenting with, as duplication could lead to custom solutions that never get fielded or put into large-scale production. (Janes/Pat Host)

The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is working to avoid duplication among the many unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programmes it is experimenting with, as it could lead to custom solutions that never get fielded or put into large-scale production.

Major General Heather Pringle, AFRL chief, told reporters on 21 September at the Air Force Association's (AFA's) annual conference that it is important for the laboratory to take multiple approaches with manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) to understand the technology's various possibilities. She said that, in early stages, there may be some duplication as the AFRL needs to explore different areas and evaluate what will work best for specific applications.

The US Air Force (USAF) is pursuing new programmatic concepts in UAVs, which include the Skyborg autonomous and attritable UAV effort, the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) advanced aircraft programme, the Golden Horde networked collaborative weapons effort, and Air Launched Effects (ALEs). These initiatives incorporate unmanned aircraft, but with different mission applications, vehicles, and relationships between manned and unmanned platforms.

Bryan Clark, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC, expressed concern that the USAF may have some duplication among these UAV efforts. He told Janes on 3 September, ahead of the conference, that there seems to be commonality in ALEs, which has small UAVs that can be deployed by aircraft to perform electronic warfare or sensing or act as munitions.

The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is working to avoid duplication among the many unmanned ...

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