(Washington, D.C.) The Air Force Research Lab is flying autonomous drones able to navigate uneven, rigorous terrain, independently find and transmit target specifics, perform manned-unmanned teaming missions and operate a large number of functions without needing pilot control.
Newer applications of software, hardware and computing could also possibly lead to unmanned-unmanned teaming and wherein autonomous drones operate swarms of attritable mini drones designed to blanket an area with surveillance, test enemy air defenses, find targets over high-threat areas and perhaps themselves function as mini-explosives.
Skyborg Autonomy Core System Program
This growing mission scope is enabled by the service’s emerging Skyborg Autonomy Core System program, a suite of integrated sensing, computing and payload technologies engineered for greater operational autonomy and manned-unmanned systems.
The flight, which took place at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is part of a critical AFRL prototyping effort to introduce new levels of autonomy into air war, therefore greatly expanding the mission envelope.
Humans will of course maintain supervisory command and control and, per Pentagon doctrine, ensure any use of lethal force is decided upon by a human pilot. However, Skyborg ACS will introduce breakthrough levels of autonomy enabling drones to perform a much wider sphere of operations without needing each individual action directed by a human.
“Military pilots receive key information about their surroundings when teamed aircraft with integrated autonomy detect potential air and ground threats, determine threat proximity, analyze imminent danger, and identify suitable options for striking or evading enemy aircraft,” an Air Force Research Laboratory paper on Skyborg says. “The program will enable airborne combat mass by building a transferable autonomy foundation for a family of layered, unmanned air vehicles.”
