Posted on 06/15/2017 9:47:48 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The U.S. Air Force’s latest unmanned aerial vehicle is small, stealthy and cheap enough to be essentially disposable. The Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft, or LCAA, could radically change the way the world’s leading air arm wages war.
The U.S. Defense Department revealed the first LCAA prototype as part of the annual DoD Lab Day, an official even highlighting the work of various military research institutions. A photo accompanying a Lab Day handout depicts an angular, jet-powered drone with a silvery paint job that could have radar-absorbing qualities.
The Air Force wants the LCAA to have a Mach .9 top speed and a 1,500-mile mission-radius with a 500-pound payload in an internal bay.
The LCAA prototype, built by San Diego Kratos under a $41-million contract that the Air Force awarded in July 2016, bears a striking resemblance to Kratos’ XQ-222 drone concept.
Kratos pitched the 29-foot-long XQ-222 as an “affordable alternative” to traditional manned aircraft for strike, air-to-air and electronic-attack missions. Notably, the XQ-222 can be launched via catapult, making it “runway-independent,” according to the company. The LCAA appears to share this catapult-launch capability.
The idea behind the LCAA is to build lots of inexpensive drones and send them into combat without worrying about losing them. Not coincidentally, Kratos made its reputation building expendable target drones.
“These [LCAA] UAVs deliver long-range responsive capability in near-peer environments where forward basing is difficult or prohibited,” the Pentagon stated in its Lab Day handout. “LCAA can fly into highly contested areas ahead of a manned craft. The manned aircraft will thus be supported by UAVs, thereby increasing the engagement abilities in contested areas.”
XQ-222. Kratos art
It’s unclear how autonomous the LCAA would be and who would control them. But it’s worth noting that the Air Force is working on new technologies for combining manned and unmanned aircraft in mixed formations, with the crew of the manned planes issuing commands to highly-autonomous robotic wingmen.
But to be “attritable,” the LCAA must be cheap. The Air Force’s contract with Kratos requires that the LCAA cost no more than $3 million apiece for 99 copies and $2 million or less for batches of 100 or more drones.
To drive down the cost, the Defense Department wants contractors to “use a product-line approach distinguished by continual aircraft design and capability refresh to incorporate emerging technologies in a timely and cost-effective manner.” In other words, the Air Force could slightly improve the LCAA design after each small production batch.
“LCAA can be manufactured at a high rate, reducing touch labor and ultimately reducing cost,” the Pentagon stated. The drones would be relatively flimsy. “LCAA are not built for longevity: acceptance criteria should become less complex, resulting in a quicker production-to-air timeline.”
“This approach has several benefits,” said Dan Ward, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former project manager. “The main one is that it is easier to experiment — and learn! — when the device in question is cheap and expendable. We can more readily try new ideas — new technologies, new tactics, etc. — because our exposure to loss is low.”
The LCAA program is potentially revolutionary for the Air Force. Hundreds or even thousands of the new drones could augment dwindling numbers of expensive manned warplanes that take decades to develop and field.
But the LCAA is, at present, just an experiment. There’s no guarantee the wider Air Force will embrace the concept of a “throw-away” plane. “There is a long history of great prototypes and small programs started up at various labs,” P.W. Singer, a strategist at the Washington, D.C.-based New America Foundation. “Too few make it into a program of record, where they are deployed widely.”
So the Iranians won’t have any use for it.
Sounds cool, but also like a cruise missile. I can launch a bunch of cruise missiles at any number of targets and not be terribly worried, as I expect them to blow up.
This craft would be beneficial if it could safely return, getting more than one mission out of it.
Perhaps having 20 at a time slaved to an AWACS or something, providing target data. The 20 go to the area, look in an assigned area for the target(s), and blast away. Continual satellite and other data updates target info.
Make it out of dollar-store grade materials and it might be biodegradable as well.
So, basically a missile that can loiter.
Maybe also be controlled by a human pilot in the area for certain missions.
Can you eat it?
How much for a thousand?
I can make a drone for under $1000 that shoots a 12ga slug once in a short galvanized pipe. Reckon I could join the Military Industrial complex? I could do the same with a .45 with 7 shots for a little more.
Do you want an existing “cheap killer drone”? Well, we have had one for a long time - it is called Congress.
Their droning will kill you, and they are cheap to buy.
"....is it edible?"
No. Up the unit price to 10 million and you might get a foot in the door. With the advance payment for first phase you then retain the best lobbyists and counsel and you are in the game of defense contracting.
Also need some slick promos and patriotic videos to enhance your name.
Go for it you free entreprise motivated red blooded patriot!
All drones are disposable. Thats why they have no pilot.
Also need some slick promos and patriotic videos to enhance your name. Go for it you free entreprise motivated red blooded patriot!
Don't forget to have components of your drone built in as many different states as possible, so that you have the support of as many legislators as you can.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.