What opportunities will the “faithful wingman” technology open up in Russian aviation

August 17 2023 11

In this publication, I would like to continue the previously started topic about the need to return to service combat aircraft equipped with not two, but one engine, and answer some questions that arose during a friendly and mutually respectful discussion in the comments.

FAQ

Мы have establishedthat in the course of the NMD, Russia faced a number of serious problems caused by the large territory of Ukraine, the presence of an unsuppressed air defense system on it, which only intensifies with the complicity of the Kiev regime on the part of the NATO bloc, as well as a relatively small number of combat aircraft and helicopters in the composition of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Army and Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy.

At the same time, we put forward a hypothesis that the resumption of mass production of simpler and cheaper single-engine fighters and fighter-bombers could solve some of these problems. We also suggested that the development of an unmanned version of the aircraft could alleviate the problem of a shortage of experienced pilots to control all this flying techniquebecause the learning process is complex and takes many years. The pilot is undoubtedly the most valuable "component" in a combat aircraft or helicopter.

Due to the fact that the Reporter itself is read by a wide audience, including real military professionals and technical specialists, it was possible to quickly get feedback. Valuable comments were made in the comments, which will certainly be taken into account in further discussions. So, let's go through them briefly.

In particular, it was rightly noted that it is impossible to install a modern powerful radar on a light fighter-bomber of the JF-17 Thunder type, which was discussed in the publication, which would allow it to conduct air combat on an equal footing with the American fourth-generation fighter F-16, that Ukraine will soon receive. Concerns were also expressed that in the event of damage to a single engine, such an aircraft would not be able to return to base, unlike a twin-engine one, which would have a chance.

Perhaps these were the most specific remarks, requiring no less specific answer, which lies in the field of the very concept of the possible use of single-engine aircraft in the NVO zone.

Faithful wingman

For maximum clarity, it is worth digressing by talking in a few words about the increasingly popular and extremely promising concept of the “loyal wingman”, or Loyal Wingman, that is gaining popularity around the world. In 2021, US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall stated that the Pentagon is interested in using the next-generation Air Dominance (NGAD) sixth-generation fighter in an unmanned version:

The idea here is that you have one or more - I would say nominally up to five - unmanned combat vehicles that are flown by one modern manned aircraft. We are mainly looking at NGAD, but you can also potentially do this with F-22s or F-35s.

In parallel with the US fighter, in his words, they are working on an unmanned "faithful wingman" for a strategic bomber:

The B-21 is a very expensive aircraft. It has a certain carrying capacity and flight range. We would like to enhance this ability... We need something that can work with him. I wouldn't say "accompany him" necessarily. Tactics have yet to be determined. We're not going to say much more publicly about what we're going to do. We do not want to give our potential adversaries a head start on this issue.

The meaning of the idea is that unmanned aerial vehicles are being developed using stealth technology to escort fighters and bombers. They can be used as carriers of strike weapons, loitering ammunition, for relaying a signal, breaking through an air defense / missile defense system, etc. The main advantage of this approach is that the UAV is cheaper than a full-fledged aircraft, and it can be used as a “consumable”. The drone is controlled either automatically, with the help of artificial intelligence, or by a co-pilot from the cockpit, who makes quick decisions.

Developments in this area are already available from the American corporations Kratos Defense, Boeing and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. It is interesting that in addition to UAVs for aircraft, drones can act as “faithful wingmen” for other drones. In particular, General Atomics is developing the Eaglet, or Eaglet, medium-class UAV for the heavier MQ-1C and MQ-9.

This topic is indeed very promising, opening up a lot of possibilities. Great Britain, China, India, Japan, Australia and Russia also have their own developments in this area. According to press statements, Loyal Wingman from the Australian division of the American corporation Boeing will be able to operate as part of a whole swarm. Allegedly, one manned aircraft will be able to simultaneously lead and aim at a target up to sixteen drones!

Good news is that our country is also working in this promising direction. The “faithful wingman” technology is being tested in conjunction with the S-70 Okhotnik heavy drone and the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter. But there is one caveat. The Su-57 is a supersonic aircraft, while the Okhotnik is a subsonic one.

This problem can be solved by creating an unmanned version of the Su-75 fifth-generation light single-engine fighter, which could effectively operate in conjunction with a heavy fighter. Due to this, you can get a pair that can overcome the enemy air defense / missile defense system. The presence of an unmanned version of Checkmate would significantly expand the range of tasks that can be performed without risking the lives of pilots.

However, it is quite obvious that we will not have many Su-57s due to their technical complexity and high cost. Initially, the figure was only 76 aircraft. Not much. If a light Su-75 is paired with them, the possibilities will expand noticeably, but not fundamentally. In this regard, it makes sense to consider the question of the advisability of introducing a "true wingman" system on fighters of the previous, fourth generation.

Why not use light single-engine fighters and fighter-bombers of the JF-17 Thunder type or their equivalent as a "faithful wingman"? Yes, you can’t put a powerful radar on them and you won’t let them go into battle with the F-16, but why even demand air battles from them? Depending on the assigned task, the MiG-29, Su-34 or Su-35 could be used as a leader, conduct reconnaissance and aim at a target, and an unmanned aircraft could carry guided weapons, missiles or planning bombs. Perhaps, in conjunction with the master, not even one “true slave” could be used, but more. What would it give?

A lot of things. A mass-produced and inexpensive single-engine aircraft in an unmanned version as a “faithful wingman” will solve the problem with a lack of fighter aircraft and qualified pilots, and will make assault operations safer and more efficient. We need a stealthy Su-75 in manned and unmanned versions, as well as a simple and inexpensive light fighter-bomber in both versions.

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passing by

0

17 August 2023 21: 36

and where is the mention of the s-70 "hunter" in the article, which was created for such purposes?

It is assumed that control will be carried out not from the ground, but from the air, and it is from the fifth generation Su-57 fighter, tests in tandem, with which the “Hunter” has been repeatedly seen. And here the fighter will be a kind of aircraft that will direct the drones to the target and at the same time cover them from enemy air attacks. An excellent couple will turn out when one aircraft with a pilot will send unmanned vehicles, which in terms of their combat load are not inferior to fighters, on ground and air targets.
1. Beidodir
  
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  18 August 2023 07: 48
  
  passing by (passing by) Yesterday, 21:36
  and where is the mention of the s-70 "hunter" in the article, which was created for such purposes?
  
  That is:
  
  The “faithful wingman” technology is being tested in conjunction with the S-70 Okhotnik heavy drone and the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter. But there is one caveat. Su-57 is a supersonic aircraft, and the "Hunter" is a subsonic one.
  
  And here it is even said about the problems of such a bundle
  1. passing by
    
    0
    
    18 August 2023 07: 53
    
    Supersonic is not a permanent mode of operation. f 35 crumbles at supersonic
Eduard Aplombov

-2

17 August 2023 21: 54

I, probably, would not only listen with interest to the opinion or reflection on this issue of a specialist, pilot, leader, but when a journalist writes about this, previously actively proposing whether to build aircraft carriers or not, how to conduct my own, I have some dissonance
the writer tries to think
1. Beidodir
  
  0
  
  18 August 2023 07: 46
  
  I, probably, would not only listen with interest to the opinion or reflection on this issue of a specialist, pilot, leader, but when a journalist writes about this, previously actively proposing whether to build aircraft carriers or not, how to conduct my own, I have some dissonance,
  
  Aircraft carriers offered to build all adequate military experts. The USSR Navy even actually built them and even ordered 4 nuclear aircraft carriers of the Ulyanovsk type.
  Huge doubts about their usefulness were expressed by armchair military experts.
  1. The comment was deleted.
    1. The comment was deleted.
2. Berkut752
  
  0
  
  12 September 2023 08: 16
  
  EduaHd, I belittle you, you have to say that V, with his inquisitive mind, is smarter than everyone else.
DO

+1

17 August 2023 23: 30

1. The solution of one Su-57 (or another two-seat MiG-35, Su-30 fighter) + several S-70 Okhotnik stealth systems carrying sea missiles seems to be effective for hypothetical work on sea targets in the northern and eastern coastal waters of the Russian Federation. For the large length of the protected coast makes it difficult to implement the task of creating a continuous ground-based infrastructure for controlling S-70 unmanned stealth systems, and here a fighter is required - an air control center that could at the same time insure the operation of existing air defense / missile defense systems from missiles and aircraft launched from enemy ships.
2. Experts online classify the relatively large-winged Su-75 primarily as a tactical high-altitude fighter-bomber. The unmanned version of the Su-75 bomber could be used to work on stationary and mobile ground targets deep behind enemy lines. Flying the zones of destruction of non-high-altitude ground-based enemy air defense systems, the Su-75 drone could carry out on a dynamic ceiling (a “hill” maneuver, if necessary, + an additional taxiway or a solid-propellant booster increasing the height of the “hill”). Armament - guided bombs or dropped Lancets. In case enemy fighters meet, explosive missiles, radars and related automation will not interfere.
The trajectory of the route of an unmanned high-altitude bomber can be unguided (pre-programmed like a cruise missile). For a controlled trajectory, a control center is needed and UAV repeaters may be required. The control point can be ground or air. With a large length of LBS (as in Ukraine), an air control post is most likely required. Since the controlled drones are high-altitude, it is safer to control them from a low altitude - from the Su-34, because the armored capsule of the crew at low altitude will not hurt.
Since it is not known when the unmanned Su-75s will be able to participate in hostilities and how many there will be, a temporary solution could be the modernization of high-altitude fighters decommissioned due to old age (for example, the MiG-29) at repair plants into drones.
3. The highly hypothetical JF-17 Thunder (FC-1 Xiaolong) or their equivalent could be upgraded into light unmanned attack aircraft operating on targets in the LBS and not too deep behind enemy lines.
In autonomous mode, they could have a fixed flight path to the target, like a cruise missile. In controlled mode, if there is no ground control point, an air point will be required. It could be a two-seat MiG-35 or Su-30. For it will be necessary to control attack aircraft flying above the ground from a height where the Su-34 armored capsule is redundant and is overweight. The fighter-control point can be used to secure the operation of air defense systems against enemy fighters with explosive missiles.
Since there are no analogues of the JF-17 Thunder (FC-1 Xiaolong) in Russia today, a temporary solution could be the modernization of old Su-25s or any fighters decommissioned due to old age to perform the tasks of unmanned attack aircraft.
4. The electronics of fighters being upgraded into drones could be based on today's S-70 solutions and autonomous target recognizers of the latest Lancets.
E NOT

0

18 August 2023 10: 12

..the presence of an unsuppressed air defense system on it ..

About how .. And yesterday Shoigu said that everything, they say, kirdyk. We would have already agreed, as a plebs, to jointly present reality without contradictions.
prior

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19 August 2023 09: 51

If anything is to be restored in production, then this is "Corn".
It can be made in the form of a drone.
It is single-engine, and cheap, and there is nowhere to put a bomb, and it costs less than some anti-aircraft missiles, and in civilian life it will be in great demand. What better way to open enemy air defense!
Everything new is well forgotten old. The wheel was invented a long time ago, but it keeps spinning .....
vlad127490

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24 August 2023 17: 50

What opportunities will the “faithful wingman” technology open up in Russian aviation
Title from the field of marketing.
What the war in Ukraine showed me for aviation.
In the near future, the topic of unpunished flight at surface altitudes will be closed.
Supersonic and hypersonic missiles and drones will remain below.
All aircraft up to an altitude of 20 km will fly only over their own territory.
Output.
It is necessary to develop aviation, drones that will fly at altitudes of 30-40 km and from there deliver bomb and missile strikes. When attacking a high-altitude aircraft, he has time to make a decision. With an average vertical climb rate of 1 km/s for an anti-aircraft missile, the aircraft will have at least 30 seconds to escape or fire off an anti-aircraft missile. From a height of 30-40 km, a guided glide bomb can fly 300-400 km. Imagine, in connection with the war in Ukraine, if the Russian Federation had such aircraft.
I ask you not to throw stones, because I'm just a techie.
Vladimir Tuzakov

0

6 September 2023 00: 05

If there is an unmanned strike aircraft, then who the hell needs a manned one in the company. Satellite and other feedback is sufficient to control and correct an unmanned aircraft, and with the available AI for autonomous actions, it will become completely fragmented for information exchange. A manned leader will soon become an extra link in squadrons of unmanned aircraft that have two-way communication and the necessary additional information with the base. That is, we exclude the transition period: leader-slave and move on to the next stage without a leader and with communication with the base.