Possibility that future fighting aircraft will be "a base station of human pilot + multiple drones fighter aircraft"

Computerization also advances to military aircraft that countries have deployed for defense and attacks, and fighter planes are now being incorporated into a part of a large information system. And the appearance of future fighter aircraft currently undergoing research and development is considered to be in the form of a series of unmanned drones fighter aircraft in "parent machine" which the human pilot operates as it is now .

The future of the Air Force is fighter pilots leading drone swarms into battle | Popular Science
http://www.popsci.com/future-air-force-fighters-leading-drone-swarms

The fighter aircraft that each country is deploying for defense continues to soar with the aircraft price and the surrounding operating costs, thanks to the demand for improvement in aircraft performance that makes the level higher year by year, I will. In addition to that, if you are shot down by enemy aircraft at the time of actual war, you will lose valuable pilots that you have cultivated in addition to expensive aircraft, causing disadvantages in many ways .

Meanwhile, it is an organization of the US Air ForceAir Force Research Institute, A defense related aircraft maker developing a drone machineKratosThe future fighter aircraft that we are developing is a stealthy and maneuverable jet fighter which one maneuvers, and it automatically tracks it to a jet fighter of one hundred million dollars (about 3 million dollars 335 million yen) unmanned drone machines are in the form of multiple follow-ups.

The advantage of this method is that it can be said that the operation cost is low and the damage can be alleviated both human and physical. Lost the aircraft and the pilot by hitting in the battle with the enemy aircraft and causing a blackout (loss of consciousness) by strongly turning more than 10 G by violent maneuvering and in some cases it crashes as it is Using unmanned drones can protect the pilot's lives at the battle field where case can occur. In addition, the low unit price of the aircraft and the characteristic that pilot is unnecessary can be used to create the merit of being able to introduce a large amount of drone fighter aircraft.

The pilot of the F-16 fighter faints during training, the image that prevents the crash by releasing the safety device immediately after release will be released with confidentiality - GIGAZINE


Kratos is a company with the ability to develop an unmanned drone represented by the term "attritable" which means "in the defense term" it means "inexpensive enough to introduce alternative things in case of loss". Steve Fendley, who oversees the company's unmanned drone department, said: "The tradition that we have nurtured since its establishment is to develop an unmanned aerial system that is robust enough to endure attacks on the ground at a low cost Even if we are attacked by our wings, our fuselage will be damaged only by that part, the remaining part will landing with parachute, then exchange only the damaged part, without cost It is possible to skip it again. "

The image of Kratos' drone machine "Mako" is like this. Kratos's target machine "BQM-167A"It is designed on the basis of the takeoff, and it is possible to take off directly above without using a long runway by using a rocket engine as an auxiliary when taking off. After takeoff, you will be flying with the parent machine and tandem using the turbofan engine. The aircraft can be equipped with multiple accessories and weapons, adding a fuel tank to increase the cruising distance, dropping bombs, attacking enemy aircraft with anti-aircraft missiles It will be possible.


Mako is capable of flying in a very wide range of altitudes from 20 feet to 50,000 feet (about 6 meters to 15,000 meters). The maximum speed is about 1100 km / h and the flight range is about 1130 km one way. The aircraft price is from 1.5 million dollars to 2 million dollars (about 165 million yen to 222 million yen) according to the specification etc. and compared with the latest type fighter which is said to be tens of billions of yen It seems to be said that it can increase the fighting power at a very low cost.

The drone machine "Valkyrie" which is bigger than Mako has a total length of about 8.8 meters and a wing tip width of about 6.7 meters. By installing a fuel efficient turbo fan engine used for business jet and other vehicles, the maximum speed is slightly lower than that of Mako, but it has a long cruising distance performance that can cross the Americas. As with Mako, it is possible to fly between 50 to 45,000 feet (about 15 to 13,700 meters) at an altitude, after returning to work, using parachutes to return to the ground and reuse it It is.


It is still unknown when these airframes will be launched into actual warfare, but at the end of that time it is finally whether "the air battle between unmanned drones" will be realized or will it be that a more modern information warfare will be fought It seems that a concept that will change even the way of generation fighter aircraft will be born.