As Europe rearms, ‘wingman’ aircraft take center stage

Center stage at last week’s Berlin airshow was the “wingman” drone, Europe’s latest-generation defense weapon designed to accompany fighter jets.

As the war in Ukraine in particular has underscored the growing importance of drones and electronic warfare, European and U.S. defense forces are rapidly developing their own AI-powered drones to complement their fighter jets and carry extra sensors, jammers and weapons.

In Berlin, four companies — Airbus, Boeing, Helsing and General Atomics — were looking to tout their latest designs of the technology to Germany’s military and beyond.

Wingman drones, known as collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), range in size from small interceptors to as large as planes. They fly in what is known as a “loyal wingman” system as they flank manned aircraft.

Investment in the technology comes as Europe faces a debate over the value of building its own sovereign defense industry and reducing reliance on the United States.

“The AI agent, of course, the brain of these systems, needs to be controlled in a sovereign fashion,” Stephanie Lingemann, head of air domain at German defense startup Helsing, told Reuters at the airshow.

Germany and France this month shelved plans for a joint fighter jet but are now looking to salvage parts of the Future Combat Air System program by developing a related drone system and data network.

NOT YET OPERATIONAL

The war in Ukraine has shown how disrupting sensors and communications can be as critical as kinetic attacks.

Helsing says its electronic attack drone is designed to operate alongside strike drones in autonomous swarms.

Boeing Australia’s Managing Director Amy List insisted its MQ-28 Ghost Bat wingman was not a drone, but an unmanned jet designed “to enhance the capabilities, be a force multiplier for crewed platforms.”

The company is collaborating with German firm Rheinmetall to build what it says is its tried and tested technology.

“It can go out ahead of crewed platforms, provide situational awareness, analyze data, it can fuse that data and provide decision-making quality information back to a human,” List told Reuters.

As it stands, wingman drones or aircraft have not yet arrived on the battlefield. Boeing says its model can be in service for the German Luftwaffe by 2029, while Airbus’ model, the U760b Ravenstorm, won’t be available until the 2030s, the company says.

General Atomics’ YFQ-42A is in testing and was selected in 2024 by the U.S. Air Force among other technologies to receive funding and other support for prototype development.

Lockheed Martin and U.S. defense technology startup Anduril are expected to display similar technologies at upcoming airshows, including Britain’s Farnborough airshow starting on July 20.