Air War in 2050: Air Force Research Lab Commander on Golden Horde

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

What if two or more precision-guided air-launched weapons such as bombs or missiles were able to share information in flight to adjust to changing targets, re-direct as needed or thwart enemy attempts to “jam” the electronic guidance systems of the weapons?

Golden Horde

Such a concept is no longer a future question regarding an undetermined time in future warfare … it is here. Last year, two Air Force F-16s fired Small Diameter Bombs which shared threat data with one another while in flight to a target using an emerging kind of collaborative weapons coordination, enabling the bombs to adjust trajectory and change course in response to identifying enemy guidance jamming signals.

Rapid progress with this emerging program, called Golden Horde, is coming to fruition in part due to innovation, research and experimentation going on within the Air Force Research Lab. In an interview with Warrior, Air Force Research Lab Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle explained some of the technological progress which is driving this program. Certainly an ability to gather, analyze and share target specifics “in flight” in a collaborative way introduces new, paradigm-changing tactics into the realm of Air War.

CENTER FOR MILITARY MODERNIZATION — GOLDEN HORDE ESSAY

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington D.C.) Should an enemy convoy, infantry formation or group of mechanized armored vehicles be quickly “moving to contact” on attack, the US Air Force would likely seek to attack and destroy the approaching force with long-range, precision guided bombs and air launched rockets and cruise missiles. However, in a modern and anticipated future warfare environment, an enemy force would likely be equipped with advanced, high-speed surveillance and data processing, enabling them to make adjustment to or avoid incoming air attacks.

Golden Horde

Now, the Air Force Research Laboratory is seeking to “counter” this “countermeasure” through a breakthrough “collaborative” weapons program called Golden Horde wherein weapons themselves autonomously share data between themselves in flight.