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domains within two years. The goal links have made MUM-T a more Gray Eagle and an AH-64 Apache
of the program is to counter China’s attractive military tactic than ever were used to demonstrate teaming
growing military might by being before. Using wireless data links, between manned and unmanned
able to ensure faster and cheaper the manned aircraft takes advan- aircraft near Kunsan Air Base in
military technology. tage of the drone’s Intelligence, South Korea. In October 2020,
“To be clear, America still ben- Surveillance, Reconnaissance the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended
efits from platforms that are (ISR) payloads, thus enhancing Range UAS teamed up with an
decision-making and mission effec-
Apache AH-64E helicopter and a
large, exquisite, expensive, tiveness. By adding the eyes and Shadow RQ-7BV2 Block III tactical
and few,” said Deputy Secretary ears of the UAS to the battlefield unmanned aircraft system to suc-
of Defense Kathleen Hicks said picture, pilots extend the reach of cessfully execute a live missile fire.
at a meeting of the National their situational awareness and In July last year, GA-ASI’s Avenger
Defense Industrial Association in improve safety. MUM-T can also UAS was paired with a “digital twin
Washington, DC. “But Replicator be used in non-military scenarios aircraft to autonomously conduct
will galvanize progress in the such as firefighting, when UAVs Live, Virtual, and Constructive
too-slow shift of US military inno- are used to find fire hotspots and (LVC) multi-objective collaborative
vation to leverage platforms that information relayed to firefighters combat missions. The team demon-
are small, smart, cheap, and many. on the ground, or for survey of strated MUM-T using the U.S. Air
So now is the time to take all-do- flood zones, as well as search and Force’s Project FoX system, which
main, attritable autonomy to the rescue operations. included a touchscreen tablet for
next level: to produce and deliver fighter cockpits. The tablet provided
capabilities to warfighters at the U.S. Takes the Lead control and monitoring of advanced
volume and velocity required to autonomy while it conducted a
deter aggression, to win if we’re MUM-T has armed forces around multi-objective combat mission con-
forced to fight.” the world excited. The U.S. Army, sisting of LVC entities.
the first service to introduce the
Late last year, the U.S. Air Force teaming concept, conducted the Boeing’s MUM-T experiments are
picked five companies, including first MUM-T experiments in 2009 not limited to the Apache AH-64E.
Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop and has made significant strides In July 2021, the Navy’s MQ-25
Grumman, and GA-ASI, in the initial since then, teaming the AH-64E Stingray unmanned aerial refueler
shortlist of its CCA drone wingmen Apache attack helicopter with communicated with other manned
competition. Autonomous sys- fixed-wing UAS such as GA-ASI’s aircraft without the need for an air
tems firm Anduril Industries is also MQ-1C Gray Eagle and Textron vehicle operator on the ground. In
competing for the award. It is yet Systems’ RQ-7B Shadow. The July 2022, Boeing and the US Navy
unclear how many companies will service’s first operational deploy- completed a series of successful
find themselves in the pruned short- ment of manned-unmanned teams MUM-T flight tests in which a Block
list that is likely by this summer. took place in 2015, when AH-64s III F/A-18 Super Hornet demon-
A fleet of wingmen drones will fly of the 101st Airborne Division were strated command and control of
alongside each sixth-generation air- paired with US Air Force MQ-1C three unmanned aerial vehicles
craft during military operations. The UAVs. The same year, the MQ-1C (UAVs). In September last year,
service wants to deploy an initial
tranche of 1,000 CCAs by 2028.

Manned-Unmanned
The increasing use of unmanned
aerial vehicles by militaries has
thrown up an exciting possibility
- manned-unmanned teaming or
MUM-T. The operation combines
the best of manned and unmanned
platforms and produces a cumu-
lative effect that is significantly
beyond the sum of the parts.
Breakthroughs in artificial intelli- © IAI
gence (AI) and sophisticated data

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