Page 19 - ADT JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2023 Online Magazine

 MUM-T

A FORCE MULTIPLIER

THE GROWING POPULARITY OF THE picture, pilots extend the reach of their situa-
MANNED-UNMANNED TEAMING tional awareness and improve safety. MUM-T
can also be used in non-military scenarios such
(MUM-T) CONCEPT WILL CHANGE as firefighting, when UAVs are used to find fire

HOW FUTURE WARS ARE FOUGHT hotspots and information relayed to firefighters
on the ground, or for survey of flood zones, as
well as search and rescue operations.
 ARUN SIVASANKARAN

It is no surprise that manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) has In a MUM-T scenario, the UAS does a variety
armed forces around the world excited. What’s not to like about of tasks, including targeting reconnaissance,
an operation that combines the best of manned and unmanned battle-damage assessment for the manned
platforms and produces a cumulative effect that is significantly aircraft, electronic warfare, and armed escort.
beyond the sum of the parts? In an armed escort scenario, the drones can
be used to clear the way for the manned air-
In December last year, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) announced craft by suppressing enemy air defences or as
that it had signed an agreement with the Korea Research Institute a supporting, additional offensive capability
for Defence Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT)to develop that increases the scope of the attack on the
technologies that enable MUM-T of combat helicopters and military adversary.
unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
MUM-T concepts can be utilized across
It isn’t unchartered territory; The Korean defence major is just the the manned aviation fleet, both rotary and
latest in a growing list of companies that are pursuing the technology fixed wing, creating greater synergies with a
even as armed forces in different regions experiment with MUM-T system-of-systems approach for combat oper-
in a bid to gain that vital edge in the battlefield. Such operations ations. MUM-T also reduces costs significantly,
keep manned aircraft away from danger, but that is not the only allowing manned assets to operate only when
reason why militaries are keen on teaming unmanned aerial vehi- needed. Unmanned aerial vehicles are signifi-
cles, which are now an integral part of most military arsenal, with cantly less expensive than manned aircraft to
manned aircraft. operate on a cost-per-flight-hour basis, pro-
vides longer dwell times, as well as less visible
BRIMMING WITH POSSIBILITIES and acoustic signatures.

Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated data
links have made MUM-T a more attractive military tactic than ever TAKING THE LEAD
before. Using wireless data links, the manned aircraft takes advan- The U.S. Army, the first service to introduce the
tage of the drone’s Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) teaming concept, conducted the first MUM-T
payloads, thus enhancing decision-making and mission effective- experiments in 2009 and has made signifi-
ness. By adding the eyes and ears of the UAS to the battlefield cant strides since then, teaming the AH-64E
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