Skunk Works shows airborne battle management of AI pilots

By Austin Haywood, published 26th November 2024.

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works has shown airborne battle management of AI pilots in an air-to-air mission against a simulated target under human command for the first time. The crewed-uncrewed teaming mission had a human pilot acting as the battle manager of AI-controlled aircraft, according to a 21st of November press release. 

Throughout a series of tests, the battle commander aboard an L-39 Albatross issued real-time commands through a touchscreen pilot vehicle interface, assigning targets to two AI-piloted L-29 Delfin jets which then worked collaboratively to defeat simulated adversary aircraft in an offensive counter air mission. These developments mark a significant step towards Lockheed’s goal of successfully pairing crewed aircraft and uncrewed aerial systems. 

The demonstration was conducted in partnership with Lockheed Martin’s Demonstrations and Prototypes Organisation and the University of Iowa’s Operator Performance Laboratory and followed the previous milestone in June when the team successfully demonstrated the ability of AI pilots to operate and conduct tactical offensive and defensive exercises.

The effort is linked to the US programme known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). The successful development of CCA using AI pilots would expand the Air Force’s fleet at roughly one-third of the cost of crewed aircraft, in addition to expected lower maintenance costs and training time. The Department of Airforce Scientific Advisory Board states that CCA should be semi-autonomous, capable of taking high-level directions and then autonomously implementing the directions. 

Programme update

The DAF plans to field 1,000 CCAs and awarded contracts to Anduril and General Atomics for detailed design and manufacturing of test systems in April 2024. Lockheed was not selected for this increment, its design was likely too exquisite and expensive for what the Air Force wanted, according to John Clark, the general manager of Skunk Works. However, a contract for a second increment is expected to be awarded in 2025, potentially expanding its platform to incorporate new technologies such as those that Lockheed is developing.

Anduril and General Atomics have completed their reviews for Increment 1 of the USAF’s CCA program. The first test flights are scheduled for 2025, with the Air Force expected to make a production decision for Increment 1 in 2026. The critical design review indicated that the CCA was expected to reach an initial operating capability by the end of the decade with drones capable of executing a range of missions, including offensive strikes, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. While development for the next group of CCA, called Increment 2, is expected in 2025, Col. Timothy Helfrich, senior materiel leader for Air Force Materiel Command’s Advanced Aircraft Division, stated that they were still assessing the correct mission use cases and desired capabilities in the next batch.

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies released a report in 2024 outlining the need for CCA to conduct disruptive air warfare. The study states the current force “lacks the lethality, survivability, and capacity” required to achieve air superiority in a conflict with China. Furthermore, successfully pairing CCA with 5th-generation and future 6th-generation combat aircraft would be critical force multipliers disrupting and imposing costs on Chinese air defences in a future conflict.

However, it also sounds a note of caution, stating that technological advances such as those seen recently at the University of Iowa are redundant if Congress continues to supply the military with inadequate resources to prepare for future conflicts.

Calibre comment

The US DoD is working on bolstering its mass through autonomous systems across the board, with the Navy recently testing a system that would allow it to fly uncrewed systems from an aircraft carrier. The USMC is also receiving the NMESIS, a  remotely operated missile launcher that fires the Naval Strike Missile from Kongsberg. The US Army is also developing a system called the Autonomous Missile Launcher, which will be able to fire its PrSM missile and add mass to its artillery formations. This approach certainly seems promising, but it is very ambitious and relies on the ability to pass data between platforms and command nodes as well as the ability to interrogate and understand it.