Latest innovations and updates in unmanned systems

One of the top dogs in the mil-spec UAV world, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has developed and built several jet-powered demonstration UAVs known as the MQ-20 Avenger, which is currently being used to test out new U.S. Navy communications systems. Derived from the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper, the Avenger is equipped with a Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engine, allowing it to reach speeds of around 400 Knots at an altitude of up to 50,000 ft.

Predator C Avenger UAV. (Photo: GA-ASI)

After extensive testing since its first flight in April 2009, a larger extended range (ER) version began test flights in 2016. The extended range version has longer wings and an increased fuel capacity with a range of 2,000 miles and an endurance of 20 hours. Avenger has several stealth features, including an S-shaped engine exhaust and an internal weapons bay for precision weapons and sensor packages, similar to the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning front-line fighters. Another recent project saw F-35 technologies passed onto the same jet-powered UAV platform.

The recent Navy communications trials were used to prove the new space-based comms capability and to remotely adjust Avenger’s autonomous internal navigation system while in flight. The aircraft has been designed for long-range, high altitude, speedy, autonomous penetration of enemy areas and this latest capability allows operations where the run-in-to-target phase can be redirected in the very last minutes of an attack. Enemy radar tracking and defenses might, therefore, be misaligned at a crucial phase of an incoming drone alarm without sufficient time to re-align and protect the actual target.

Space-based communications, in this case, used signals via the Proliferated low-Earth orbit (LEO) system of satellites, which is reportedly a mil-spec LEO constellation of communications. satellites — somewhat related to the orbits of the Space-X commercial Starlink LEO internet satellite system.

While we are in the military domain, a recently displayed Chinese development is being claimed to be a jet-powered ‘mothership’ UAV. The concept is that the carrier aircraft travels longer distances and releases a swarm of short-range drones when within range of their target(s) — a possible mock-up of such a vehicle was shown before a recent Chinese airshow.

Jiu Tian mothership UAV mock-up. (Photo: Chinese internet)

The center section of the UAV appears to be detachable or has large opening doors – the Chinese and English inscriptions on it imply that it is a module for carrying drones. There have been other reports that Chinese military thinking includes the deployment of large swarms of drones to attack multiple targets simultaneously. However, The Jiu Tian UAV does not come with a stealthy design.

In light of the recent competition between the U.S. and China, an article about the new U.S. Air Force B-21 stealth bomber has been published. The article suggests that, given the F-35 stealth fighter-bomber’s exceptional stealth capabilities and its ability to carry and release multiple weapons from an internal bay, the B-21 may already face obsolescence.

So then, why not re-purpose the B-21 to be a drone-carrying mothership that could, while undetected, penetrate enemy defenses to release swarms of U.S. attack drones?

B-21 next generation Stealth bomber. (Photo: U.S. Air Force)

Currently, a part of the U.S. three-pronged nuclear delivery deterrents alongside submarines and ballistic missiles, the Air Force believes that the role of the existing B-2 Spirit bomber is not obsolete, and the B-21 should become operational as planned in the 2030s with its new stealth and suite of high-end technology sensors and control systems.

The concept of a Chinese “mothership” is designed to transport drone swarms close to targets before launching them. Additionally, there may be a stealthy response from the US, utilizing low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for space-based communications to adjust the routing of autonomous drones. This approach raises the question of whether it could be used to deceive drone defenses during the terminal phase of an attack. These solutions are complex but could significantly enhance the effectiveness of future military drone operations.