Europe’s 6th Gen Fighter Jets Will Be Supported By AI-Powered Drone Wingmen

AI will become a key element in the development of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a collaborative initiative involving Germany, France, and Spain, with Belgium acting as an observer.

The FCAS initiative seeks to create a next-generation fleet of aircraft, to launch a feasible demonstrator by the end of 2030. AI is playing a pivotal role in developing the various systems under the FCAS program, significantly influencing the final aircraft’s operation and the pilots’ functionalities.

A standout feature of the FCAS is its integration of drone wingmen, which will accompany the main aircraft for various missions. These drone wingmen will perform multiple tasks, from gathering intelligence to enhancing combat capabilities. Crucially, these drones will possess autonomous decision-making abilities, reducing the workload on human pilots.

“Building such type of AI will be crucial to the success of the FCAS project as a whole,” states a report in Defense News. Onur Deniz, CEO of NeuralAgent, a company tasked with maintaining constant data exchange within the FCAS platform, emphasized the importance of autonomous decision-making for drone wingmen. “Our approach allows drone wingmen to make autonomous decisions and continuously relay data with their peers and command centres,” Deniz explained.

Simulation tests with these drone wingmen have shown promising results, achieving a 95% success rate in combat scenarios. “By the end of 2025, the software will be ready for integration into existing hardware – legacy systems, at first,” Deniz added.

Airbus, a key player in the FCAS project, envisions the system centred around a Next Generation Weapon System (NGWS). This “system of systems” will see piloted New Generation Fighters working in tandem with Unmanned Remote Carriers, all interconnected via a data cloud known as the “Combat Cloud.”

This integration aims to replace current military systems like Rafale and Eurofighter with a fully collaborative combat system by 2040.

An incremental rollout of FCAS capabilities is planned, starting with initial situational awareness across platforms in the mid-2020s. This will be followed in the 2030s by manned-unmanned teaming between upgraded existing fighters, such as the Eurofighter Long Term Evolution (LTE), and first-generation Remote Carriers, leading to the full realization of the FCAS vision by 2040.

Remote carriers will be deployed from transport aircraft like Airbus A400M to support manned aircraft, which will play a central role. These carriers will operate with a high level of autonomy, with AI being a critical component of their functionality.