LCASD - the drone everyone's been clamoring for

[arian]

So basically a Firebee.

teledyne-ryan_3-473x496.jpg (62.41 KiB) Viewed 1353 times

[smsgtmac]

LOL. That pic is from one of my unit's test programs not long before I was transferred in. The first UAV guided weapons launch success. When the Predator launched its firdt Hellfire, I had to remind the shimy AF Lt PAO that what she wrote up as a 'first time' was the first operational use, but not allbtogether that new. And now the world has forgotten we used to have enlisted UAV controllers right up to the early 1990s. History in America is a black hole whereby we constantly relearn old lessons.

[popcorn]

What's that black round thingy atop the vertical tail? Also, notice the different nose jobs.

[arian]

Something like it flew last year.

[popcorn]

Somewhat intriguing they're using a Harrier to control the drones. Marines must be keen on the thing.

Edit - turns out the ALQ 231 Intrepid TIger Pod is a USMC piece of kit and testing it on the drone is in support of their efforts to deliver a distributed, networked EW capability.

[popcorn]

Smsgt. Mac's baby has all grown up and is ready to play.


http://newatlas.com/kratos-valkyrie-mak ... ult-widget

Kratos to show low-cost Valkyrie and Mako "wingman" combat drones

Defense company Kratos has announced that it will show two low-cost combat drones at the Paris Air Show next week, offering an insight as to what military conflicts might look like in the foreseeable future – a manned combat jet leading dozens of 1,000 km/h lethally-armed unmanned companions.

The Kratos XQ-222 Valkyrie and UTAP-22 Mako drones offer fighter-like performance at between US$2 and $3 million apiece, compared with $100 million for each manned fighter. The Valkrie and Mako will initially function as wingmen to manned aircraft in combat, but they are the most likely key component of the first military unmanned combat swarms...

Attritable doesn't quite mean disposable, but expendable if necessary. Hence the drones might be used to shield the manned aircraft nominally controlling the swarm, and take risks that manned planes and very expensive Unmanned Systems cannot...

The smaller Mako with its 10-ft (3-m) wingspan is the faster of the two at 0.91 Mach (1,125 km/h), while the 22-ft (6.7-m)-wingspan Valkyrie is slightly slower at 0.85 Mach (1,050 km/h). Both drones can operate independently in combat and both have considerable range, with the Mako capable of flying to 50,000 ft and covering 1,400 naut mi (2,600 km) and the XQ-222 Valkyrie (below) capable of 45,000 ft and 1,850 naut mi (3,425 km).
"If you team up a bunch of these aircraft with an F-35 or an F-22, or some of our surveillance assets, you'd basically be able to cover more space at a lower cost point," Bill Baron of the United States Air Force Research Laboratories told the Dayton Daily News last month. "In a lot of cases, we don't have enough airplanes and as you look to the future, most likely our fleet sizes are going to continue to be more limited so this is a way to provide a force multiplier."

[southernphantom]

Somebody call Dale Brown; I think the Flighthawk is here. Is it time to convert some B-52s into 'aerial battleships' yet?

[gc]

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... 8a-450091/

Flying soon! But its payload is pretty limited. Just 600lbs. Thats 1 GBU-38 or 2 SDBs. It can't even carry 2 AMRAAMs.

[popcorn]

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/afrl-sets-first-flight-date-for-xq-58a-450091/

Flying soon! But its payload is pretty limited. Just 600lbs. Thats 1 GBU-38 or 2 SDBs. It can't even carry 2 AMRAAMs.

If they can mass produce them at $2-3M apiece then a swarm of these things will pack quite a punch in aggregate and be a nightmare to defend against.

[sferrin]

Much less capable than Minion. (UCAV which was supposed to be carried by the F-22. One under each wing, 8 SDB payload, 1000 mile range, and landing gear.)

1105armada02.jpg (18.38 KiB) Viewed 54497 times

[botsing]

Much less capable than Minion. (UCAV which was supposed to be carried by the F-22. One under each wing, 8 SDB payload, 1000 mile range, and landing gear.)

So tell me then o big mighty oracle, why is that thing not in mass production if it's much more capable?

You know every design is a compromise of many aspects right?

Digging up past projects that did not come to fruitation and pretending they were the holy grail is a tad out of reality.

[zerion]

XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator completes inaugural flight

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – --
The XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator, a long-range, high subsonic unmanned air vehicle completed its inaugural flight March 5, 2019 at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona. The Air Force Research Laboratory partnered with Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems to develop the XQ-58A.

This joint effort falls within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) portfolio, which has the objective to break the escalating cost trajectory of tactically relevant aircraft. The objectives of the LCAAT initiative include designing and building UAS faster by developing better design tools, and maturing and leveraging commercial manufacturing processes to reduce build time and cost.

Developed for runway independence, the aircraft behaved as expected and completed 76 minutes of flight time. The time to first flight took a little over 2.5 years from contract award. The XQ-58A has a total of five planned test flights in two phases with objectives that include evaluating system functionality, aerodynamic performance, and launch and recovery systems.

“XQ-58A is the first example of a class of UAV that is defined by low procurement and operating costs while providing game changing combat capability,” said Doug Szczublewski, AFRL’s XQ-58A Program Manager.

https://www.wpafb.af.mil/News/Article-D ... al-flight/

[sferrin]

Much less capable than Minion. (UCAV which was supposed to be carried by the F-22. One under each wing, 8 SDB payload, 1000 mile range, and landing gear.)

So tell me then o big mighty oracle, why is that thing not in mass production if it's much more capable?

Is this a real question? (BTW, one doesn't need to be an "oracle". One just has to be able to read but maybe that's beyond you.)

[zerion]

Video of Containerized Valkyrie

https://mobile.twitter.com/strikewriter ... 4960917506