Page 29 - ADT NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2023 Online Magazine

 COLUMN
UAVS WILL

KEEP FLYING Matthew Medley

Global Industry
Director, A&D at IFS

In the global defence sector, the use of remotely controlled and with Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T)
more expendable aerial assets has seen a tremendous increase technologies designed to help them seamlessly
due to the benefits they pose in being able to remove warfighters collaborate with manned aircraft, AAMs are in
from harm and address an ever-widening threat environment. The full flight!
market for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is one of the most appealing
and lucrative, with many defence companies wanting to be a part
of the AAM ecosystem—witness a poll at a recent IFS webinar where Operational Benefits
48% of attendees wanted to be involved in the ecosystem.
Not only do UASs remove soldiers from danger
but they also bring other operational benefits.
Over 100 military organizations are now utilizing a form of AAM. With Being unmanned, there’s more space for larger
the market already estimated by GlobalData to be worth $7.9 billion payload capacity, increased intelligence ability
in 2022 and predicted to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate due to additional sensors, or the ability to carry
of over 4% from 2022 to 2032, there are no signs of this movement more fuel.
stopping!.

The U.S. Congressional Research Office and
Potential revenue growth is one of the main attractions for organi-
zations to AAM as shown in IFS’s webinar where 63% of attendees Department of Defence see a number of new
saw potential revenue as the greatest benefit to their organization. operational roles for UAS. UAS enable the air-
craft to return to base after their mission and
have the ability to be able to land in a more rural
The Game of Drones in the Defence Sector discrete setting compared to manned aircraft.
This means that no matter the size of the UAS,
AAM use in the defence sector has been up and flying for many years they can make delivery quickly and easily and
now with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) becoming prevalent in then return. This has a two-pronged ripple effect
use, though growing in intricacy and operational capabilities. Over of increasing combat mass and removing warf-
11,000 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are now being used by the ighters from frontline danger, as the technology
U.S. Department of Defence for training, delivering humanitarian enables the redeployment of current manpower
aid, and overseas contingency missions showing that they are here on to different tasks, all benefits that align with
to stay and help manage and control the ever-increasing threat the U.S. Air Force Agile Combat Employment
involved in the defence sector. initiative.

Ground risk reduced by moving autonomously in the air AAMs vary
in size and scale but all play a pivotal operational role, from small UAS also have a role to play in the humanitarian
surveillance drones capable of going behind enemy lines to large relief mission, with their large payload capac-
UAVs with increased payload capacity. Soon there will even be ity increasing the amount of aid that can be
UASs capable of deployment alongside manned aircraft, and with delivered at once. Of course there’s still a “long
developments like the Boeing Loyal Wingman project aircraft, this road ahead” for this mission requiring govern-
ground-breaking asset can carry out its own separate mission ment investment as highlighted by Lt. Col. Mark
alongside manned aircrafts. Jacobsen in a recent interview, but the use of
drones in humanitarian relief has two main ben-
efits including getting to areas only accessible
This gives us interesting insights into the future for AAM in the defence via air without risking pilots, and the speed in
sector, and with a new generation of UAVs just around the corner which cargo can be delivered to areas in des-
ASIAN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2023 | 29