{"id":69750,"date":"2022-01-11T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T19:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=69750"},"modified":"2022-01-10T15:01:34","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T04:01:34","slug":"editors-picks-for-2021-raaf-should-be-planning-the-next-loyal-wingman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/editors-picks-for-2021-raaf-should-be-planning-the-next-loyal-wingman\/","title":{"rendered":"Editors\u2019 picks for 2021: \u2018RAAF should be planning the next loyal wingman\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Originally published 7 December 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n

A recent test flight of Boeing Australia\u2019s Airpower Teaming System, the second such flight in the \u2018Loyal Wingman\u2019 program, which currently has two test aircraft, saw the first aircraft\u00a0retract<\/a>\u00a0its undercarriage for the first time and the second aircraft take its first flight. A total of six have been ordered, with\u00a0three<\/a>\u00a0to be acquired by the end of 2021. A new final assembly is to be established at Wellcamp Airport near\u00a0Toowoomba<\/a>\u00a0in Queensland, providing a boost to the state\u2019s defence industry sector.<\/p>\n

This is an important milestone for the test program of the new capability that demonstrates developments that may be more important for the Australian Defence Force than the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines in 20 years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

The Loyal Wingman is groundbreaking in a number of ways. First, and perhaps most important, it is the first combat aircraft developed and designed for the Royal Australian Air Force since World War II. It represents a new type of capability for the RAAF through crewed\u2013autonomous teaming technologies, allowing aircraft such as the F-35A Lightning II, F\/A-18F Super Hornet and E-7A Wedgetail to \u2018plug and play\u2019 with the Loyal Wingman as a networked force. It\u2019s set to offer \u2018fighter-like performance\u2019 with a range of more than\u00a02,000 nautical miles<\/a>\u00a0(3,700 kilometres) and a modular design to allow a\u00a0range<\/a>\u00a0of different types of missions including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, communications relay, and both kinetic and non-kinetic strike capabilities. Its use of smart and trusted autonomy will mean that it\u2019s not a \u2018remotely piloted\u2019 drone but operates with a high degree of independence alongside crewed platforms without adding needless burdens to aircrew.<\/p>\n

With the assembly facility in Queensland, the Loyal Wingman project creates the potential for a flourishing aerospace industry that supports not only the manufacture of the aircraft itself, but also the rapid development of new types of air combat capabilities.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this future development potential that needs to be explored quickly. In the context of the AUKUS agreement, much attention has been placed on Australia\u2019s decision to pursue SSNs and the challenges of getting them within a reasonable timeframe. But there\u2019s a strong case to be made that Australia can\u2019t afford to stand still on long-range deterrence and strike while waiting potentially decades for the SSNs to arrive.<\/p>\n

An alternative path for the ADF to project power needs to be considered. Developing and evolving a second-generation Loyal Wingman is a logical next step.<\/p>\n

The first-generation Loyal Wingman that is now being tested is a small tactical aircraft which will offer the RAAF greater combat mass than it is currently able to field. Quantity has a quality of its own, and Australia\u2019s approach to RAAF force structure needs to break away from\u00a0traditional sizing limitations<\/a>\u00a0that have been largely static since the 1980s and the arrival of the F\/A-18 A\/B \u2018Classic Hornet\u2019. It\u2019s time for a larger and more powerful air force in the face of growing threat from a rising China. The Loyal Wingman gives a path to that larger future force.<\/p>\n

Alongside greater mass must come greater range and performance. The Loyal Wingman\u2019s declared range of 3,700 kilometres would translate to an unrefuelled combat radius of approximately 1,200 kilometres depending on payload and mission profile. That\u2019s roughly\u00a0comparable<\/a>\u00a0to that of the F-35A. That range does need to be extended, in order to solve the challenges posed by the extensions of China\u2019s anti-access and area-denial envelope.<\/p>\n

Ideally, this challenge would be eased via host-nation support or through airborne refuelling, but it\u2019s possible that support from countries in the region won\u2019t be forthcoming in a crisis, particularly if they\u2019re pressured by China not to offer it.<\/p>\n

There are also challenges when it comes to aerial refuelling. China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army Air Force is developing longer-range capabilities. The Pentagon\u2019s 2021 China military power\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0notes the continued development of the PLAAF\u2019s long-range\u00a0J-20 fighter<\/a>. The Royal United Service Institute\u2019s Justin Bronk\u00a0notes<\/a>\u00a0that the J-20\u2019s mission is to attack vital combat-enabler platforms such as the KC-30A refueller and the E-7A Wedgetail early warning and control aircraft.<\/p>\n

The J-20\u2019s\u00a0range<\/a>\u00a0of up to 2,700 kilometres means that, if deployed to bases in the South China Sea, it could potentially strike airborne refuellers operating out of northern Australia. The PLAAF\u2019s long-range bomber capability is also being rapidly developed. The H6N bomber is now operational and can carry air-launched ballistic missiles with a range of 3,500 kilometres that could strike\u00a0targets<\/a>\u00a0as far south as Pine Gap. We could lose bases through missile strikes as quickly as through diplomatic coercion.<\/p>\n

As ASPI\u2019s Marcus Hellyer\u00a0notes<\/a>, RAAF airborne refuellers extend the time on station of platforms such as the F-35A and extend their range by about 500 kilometres. The risk is that increasingly long-range PLAAF airpower will place these airborne refuellers under threat. So, they must be defended. The logistical challenges increase as fighters need to defend the tankers and, in turn, need the tankers to stay on station.<\/p>\n

There are two options for managing this dilemma. The first is\u00a0acquiring longer-range fighters<\/a>. The proposed US Air Force next-generation air dominance (NGAD<\/a>) and US Navy\u00a0F\/A-XX<\/a>\u00a0programs could potentially deliver such a capability for the RAAF, but likely not until the 2030s. The second is to use the Loyal Wingman as a basis for a future multirole vehicle that can undertake both longer-range strike and long-range air defence missions as part of an integrated air and missile defence system, such as that envisaged under Project\u00a0AIR 6500<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Certainly, the first-generation Loyal Wingman could be employed on one-way flights to contest PLAAF forces in the South China Sea through electronic warfare missions, for example, and offer a forward line of combat air power while leaving crewed platforms to the rear. But the performance and payload of the Loyal Wingman as it is currently configured would leave it vulnerable to higher performance crewed PLAAF fighters such as the J-20, as well as the J-11 and J-16.<\/p>\n

Evolving the Loyal Wingman into a second-generation platform with greater range, payload and performance to expand the RAAF\u2019s tactical and operational air defence and strike capabilities is a clear path forward. It should take full advantage of rapid digital design and development to produce an evolved aircraft not in decades, but in years, noting that the current aircraft went from concept to first flight in three years. In confronting the growing challenge posed by a much more capable PLAAF, the RAAF needs to think in terms of hemispheric airpower projection. That\u2019s a job for Loyal Wingman 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally published 7 December 2021. A recent test flight of Boeing Australia\u2019s Airpower Teaming System, the second such flight in the \u2018Loyal Wingman\u2019 program, which currently has two test aircraft, saw the first aircraft\u00a0retract\u00a0its undercarriage …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":69178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[743,2425,402,726],"class_list":["post-69750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-airpower","tag-defence-capability","tag-drones","tag-raaf"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEditors\u2019 picks for 2021: \u2018RAAF should be planning the next loyal wingman\u2019 | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/editors-picks-for-2021-raaf-should-be-planning-the-next-loyal-wingman\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Editors\u2019 picks for 2021: \u2018RAAF should be planning the next loyal wingman\u2019 | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Originally published 7 December 2021. A recent test flight of Boeing Australia\u2019s Airpower Teaming System, the second such flight in the \u2018Loyal Wingman\u2019 program, which currently has two test aircraft, saw the first aircraft\u00a0retract\u00a0its undercarriage ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/editors-picks-for-2021-raaf-should-be-planning-the-next-loyal-wingman\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-10T19:00:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-10T04:01:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/wingman0712.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"472\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" 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