Air Warfare magazine: loyal wingmen, the future of air power and more

Read the latest edition of Air Warfare for free in our app or on your desktop.

What's inside this edition:

Comment

In mid-September, the defence community was surprised to learn that the USAF had secretly flown a full-scale prototype of a Next-Generation Air Dominance platform. Does this move herald a pioneering approach to aircraft development?

Features include:

DISTRIBUTED CONTROL

As Western nations look to a possible future of increased peer or near-peer rivalries, the growing importance of multi-domain operations is a central focus. Air power will be key to this picture, though there are a number of challenges that must be addressed, ranging from C2 to interoperability.

THE LONG HAUL

Future-proofing the cockpits of fast jet aircraft that may need to remain in service for three decades or more demands a new approach to systems architecture.

Other features include:

DYNAMIC DUO

Looked upon as one of the most important future air power concepts, loyal wingmen are set to fly alongside manned fighters and to act as unmanned ‘force multipliers’ once operational. But can they live up to the hype and prove themselves against contested-environment threats?

BEYOND THE NICHE

VTOL UAV designs are evolving to keep pace with operational requirements and worldwide trends. Shephard examines current US military programmes to shed light on the latest developments.

GAME PLAN

Future Vertical Lift is designed to give the US Army new helicopter and unmanned fleets to succeed ageing aircraft, but how have acquisition plans changed since the outbreak of COVID-19 and what has the service learned from recent weapons and sensor testing? Shephard assesses latest developments.

VYING FOR TOP SPOT

As near-peer threat scenarios return, an ever-increasing interest in armoured vehicles is leading to a surge in attack helicopter procurement. Shephard Defence Insight analyses the global attack helicopter market, breaks down regional trends and highlights some potentially lucrative business opportunities in this highly competitive segment.

OCEANIC OBSERVERS

With a wide range of high- and low-end solutions available, how is the global MPA market shaping up?