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| Boeing Loyal Wingman |
Militarymedia.net - Having been delayed from the scheduled timetable, the Loyal Wingman drone has finally successfully conducted a maiden flight on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The test flight was shared with Boeing Australia and the Australian Air Force (RAAF), which historically made the Loyal Wingman the first military aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia in 50 years.
The inaugural test flight was conducted in australia's south with live monitoring from the Ground Control Station. So far there has been no additional information regarding the inaugural Loyal Wingman test flight, when referring to the schedule that has been released, loyal wingman should conduct the first test flight at the end of last year 2020.
Loyal Wingman is 11.6 meters long and has a flying range of 3,704 km. The characteristic of Loyal Wingman is in the nose that is 2.59 meters long, where the internal volume of the nose that reaches 1.47 meters can be configured charge. It is possible for the operator to place the payload according to the mission carried out. Boeing said that the replacement payload on the Loyal Wingman will only take a few hours.
The Australian government has invested Aus$40 million (US$31 million) in the development of Loyal Wingman. According to Boeing Australia, the United States and The United Kingdom expressed interest in using these drones in the future. Three Loyal Wingman prototypes will be created and form the basis of the Airpower Teaming System that Boeing will offer to prospective customers around the world.
Although information updates are released periodically, loyal wingman figures get strict security, where photos about drones are also limited. In October 2020, Loyal Wingman has completed the taxii test phase. Taxiing tests include running drones at speeds of up to 26 km per hour, performing multiple demonstrations of manoeuvres and stop-by-command.
Designed as a companion for F/A-18F Super Hornet and F-35A Lightning II RAAF fighter jets, the Loyal Wingman is made with composite materials and later loyal wingman will be equipped with artificial intelligence technology that allows teaming between manned and unmanned platforms.
