The future of air warfare: Skyborg

In 2019, the United States Air Force had started to explore an idea which would put AI in the front seat of future air combat. This idea was known as "Skyborg". The concept was a program that would train and learn alongside pilots to become a wing man of sorts, the current approach that is being considered is one where this program would be loaded onto the Kratos Defense XQ-58 Valkyrie unmanned aerial vehicle. This would enable the Valkyrie to network with a manned fighter, of which two platforms are being considered for this program, the Boeing F-15EX and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Block IIII.

The XQ-58 is a highly versatile platform, being able to perform like a conventional fighter aircraft while maintaining a low cost relative to their manned counterparts. The main benefit of this system would be to mitigate risk by reducing the amount of manned platforms needed for combat operations, i.e a conventional formation of what may be four F-35's could be replaced with three XQ-58's and a singular F-35, this would be beneficial from a cost point of view and it would also be an effective force multiplier.

The Boeing F-15EX alongside a Lockheed Martin F-35 and a Kratos Defense XQ-58V. credits: defensenews.com

The Boeing F-15EX alongside a Lockheed Martin F-35 and a Kratos Defense XQ-58V. credits: defensenews.com

Skyborg would work in the same way a manned platform works, it would be able to carry out missions and tasks on its own, however, it would require a “sensor” aircraft to be able to actually carry out said missions. What this means is that you would have a central manned aircraft, in this specific example, the F-35. The central aircraft would act as the eyes and ears of the unmanned aircraft, using its sensors to process and pick up information then transmitting that information to the unmanned aircraft via the use of secure datalinks (a form of a secure military communication standard). Such a system would allow more flexibility as in the case of the XQ-58, the maximum payload capacity of the aircraft is 1100lbs (split between two weapons bays). This allows for the XQ-58 to be able to carry out combat operations when instructed to do so by the “central” manned aircraft.

Having the XQ-58's replace conventional manned aircraft could also enable future developments such as having these unmanned aircraft work alongside other platforms, for example, airborne early warning and command aircraft, making use of their powerful sensors to be able to cue targets and engage adversaries from longer ranges, increasing there situational awareness and probability of kill.

Another use of the Skyborg program could be to have it act as a secondary pilot to reduce workload on one pilot, enabling it to take over some of the tasks the pilot may need to do to enable them to focus on mission critical work, having an AI pilot could also help reduce collateral damage in certain situations and enable more accurate targeting.

The whole Skyborg ecosystem has great growth potential in the way that it can also be used for training missions, such as loading the program onto unmanned target drones or even having it be used on larger platforms to undertake even more complex missions such as Air Superiority or Suppression of Enemy Air Defense roles. The possibilities of such a system are endless.

Arslan Khan