New Chinese Wing Loong-1E Drone Copies US Army Grey Eagle

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

New Chinese Wing Loong-1E Drone Copies US Army Grey Eagle

(Washington D.C.) China may be copying a successful and promising US Air Force “loyal wingman” effort intended to enable manned jets to operate nearby drones from the cockpit of the aircraft to reduce latency, expand mission scope and bring paradigm-changing possibilities for coordinated air attacks.

A report in the Chinese government-backed Global Times newspaper says the People’s Liberation Army Air Force is experimenting with manned-unmanned teaming with its J-20 5th-generation stealth fighter jet.

The “loyal wingman” concept enables manned fighter jets to control the flightpath and sensor payload of nearby drones without needing to transmit video and data back through a ground control center. Rather the incoming information in the form of video, still photos or EW specifics from drones can be collected, gathered and organized by on-board computer processing, greatly improving operational efficiency and multiplying mission options.

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The US Air Force, for example, has been making rapid progress on this for many years now and has even flown F-35s alongside its Valkyrie drone to refine manned-unmanned teaming concepts and possibilities. The possibility of enabling F-22 or F-35 pilots to control drones from the cockpit was on the radar for Air Force scientists years ago. Weapons developers saw an opportunity to reduce risk to manned aircraft by enabling them to control forward drones to test enemy air defenses, blanket an area with surveillance and even fire weapons when directed by a human.