China’s Sky Hawk stealth drone has capability to ‘talk’ to fighter pilots, developer says
- Manned-unmanned teaming technology allows aircraft – with or without pilots – to communicate and collaborate during surveillance and combat operations
- But despite claims, system is still only in development stage, expert says
One of China’s newest stealth drones, the Sky Hawk, features state-of-the-art technology that allows it to communicate and collaborate with manned aircraft during surveillance and combat operations, its developer said.
Known as manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), the technology means pilots and ground staff can receive information from drones to improve their situational awareness while allowing them to remain at a safe distance.
“Battlefields of the future will be very intense and confrontational, and stealthy drones like the Sky Hawk will have a huge role to play,” Ma Hongzhong, its chief engineer at China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, told news portal Thepaper.cn on Thursday.
“Manned-unmanned teaming is the technology of the future … and the Sky Hawk has such a capability,” he said.
Despite Ma’s claims, Singapore-based aviation expert Kelvin Wong said that while MUM-T was a major development trend within the global industry the technology had so far eluded most nations.
The idea of the system is that it allows drones to communicate not only with each but also with manned aircraft, he said, but “that requires precise flight command and control, and high-speed, high-volume data sharing … to name a few of the core technologies”.