SKYBORG PROGRAM

BAE Systems announced on October 22 that it has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defence to develop a UAV system for the Skyborg program. This contract, estimated at $ 400 million, is aimed at developing aircraft with a certain autonomy that will be used to complement the fighters.

Penetrate enemy’s defenses.

The goal of Skyborg program is to combine both capabilities (UAV and jet fighter): UAV will penetrate enemy’s defenses, and open the way for fighters.  The sensors and payloads carried by the UAV will be connected to a network, to which the fighter will also be linked, making it easier to disseminate information from one platform to another. This approach will allow UAVs to be "the eyes and ears of the pilots, collecting and sending data from the theatre to manned fighters," says BAE Systems.

 SCAF.

This logic is similar of that of the SCAF (Future Combat Air System), where remote carriers must be implemented to complement the NGF (Next Generation Fighter), to ensure its protection and collect crucial information before its arrival. The whole system is thus linked to the combat cloud, to which the other systems in the combat bubble will also be able to connect in order to adopt a collaborative approach.

You will find articles about Future Combat Air System (SCAF) within our special edition, which focuses on Air and Space Force and is available on October 30th