Boeing and the US Navy have completed a series of flight tests in which an F/A-18 Super Hornet jet successfully controlled three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) simultaneously, the company announced on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2022) Boeing and the US Navy have completed a series of flight tests in which an F/A-18 Super Hornet jet successfully controlled three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) simultaneously, the company announced on Friday.
"Boeing and the US Navy have completed a series of manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) flight tests in which a Block III F/A-18 Super Hornet successfully demonstrated command and control of three unmanned UAVs," the press release said.
In the tests, Boeing system engineers connected the aircraft's adjunct processor, known as the Distributed Targeting Processor - Networked (DTP-N), with a third-party tablet to link up with the UAVs, the release explained.
"This successful MUM-T demonstration represents a significant step toward the Navy's vision for Distributed Maritime Operations. It highlights the potential of unmanned concepts to expand and extend the Navy's reach," Boeing Director for Multi-Domain Integration Scott Dickson said in the release.
Boeing developed new software loads for the DTP-N specific to running the third-party tablet and transmitting commands. During the test flights, F/A-18 pilots entered commands into the tablet, which were processed and transmitted through Block III's hardware. The UAVs executed all commands given by F/A-18 pilots during tests over a two-week period, the release said.
