Monday, May 25, 2020

The U.S. Air Force Wants R2D2-Like 'Skyborg' Copilots

A Skyborg conceptual design for a low cost Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle. (U.S. Air Force)

Military.com: The Air Force Is Now Accepting Bids to Build R2D2-Like 'Skyborg' Copilots

The U.S. Air Force has launched the bidding process for its next-generation "Skyborg" program, aimed at pairing artificial intelligence with a human piloting a fighter jet.

The service posted a solicitation notice last week on the government's acquisition and awards website. Multiple companies could potentially win contract awards of $400 million each, according to the posting.

Depending on how many companies the Air Force chooses, firms may develop tailored portions of the Skyborg system, it states.

"The intent of Skyborg is to integrate an autonomy mission system core and suite of services ... with multiple low-cost air vehicle systems, each designed to perform one or more mission types," the solicitation adds.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Skyborg? Who conjured up that name?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...


And what did the mock up cost?

Anonymous said...


All this gadgetry has a weak link; the communications can be jammed as Russia is demonstrating in Syria and nearby territory.

Blackdog said...

Anon 10:43 has a good point. I’ve heard of Russia jamming communications in Ukraine and Syria. And some of the drones communications have been jammed also. Has anyone heard about the F 22 or F 35 communications having trouble?

Blackdog said...

And a real quick shout out to the editor. Have you ever watch Star Trek. The borg is where it’s at! When one borg knows something, all the borg knows something .That is where the United States Air Force is going with the F 35 and all the other branches are following.