Vorhang auf, Valkyrie raus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6hpQYXeK_s (Video: US Air Force releases first video of XQ-58A Valkyrie)Just a week after Boeing unveiled their export-centric 'loyal wingman' combat drone concept, the Air Force Research Lab has announced that their own similar endeavor, dubbed the XQ-58A Valkyrie, has made its first flight. It also posted the very first image of the aircraft that has been developed under a veil of secrecy over the last two and half years.
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It is hoped that the XQ-58A will provide a low cost surveillance, strike, and electronic warfare support capability that can be operated independently, as a cooperative swarm, or as part of a so called 'loyal wingman' concept of operations a group of Q-58s would work under the command of a nearby manned combat aircraft. The stealthy drone, which supposedly has a range of well over 2,000 miles and is capable of carrying a pair of Small Diameter Bombs or electronic warfare and surveillance gear, is also capable of being launched using rocket boosters instead of relying on runways alone.
Kratos Defense, the drone's manufacturer that is best known for its catalog of highly respected target drones, and the AFRL have always envisioned the XQ-58, above all else, as being a disruptor when it comes to cost. We described this in an earlier piece on the program:
LCASD aims to be able to eventually field a optionally reusable, highly adaptable, low-end unmanned combat air vehicle for $3 million apiece for batches of up to 99 aircraft per year, or $2 million each for yearly orders of 100 or more. In essence, the LCASD concept is “high-volume” both in the strategy behind it and in terms of procuring it affordably.
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/26825/air-forces-secretive-xq-58a-valkyrie-experimental-combat-drone-emerges-after-first-flightAufklärung, Angriff, Eloka. Reichweite im Bereich 3000 bis 4800 km.
Jdam, Raketen etc.
Bis zu 100 "Wingmans" pro Jahr. Das wird zukünftige Einsätze verändern, wenn man erst mal ein paar Drohnen vorschicken kann die Aufklären, elektronische Maßnahmen oder direkte kinetische Angriffe vornehmen.
Man darf gespannt sein was noch so kommt. Wie im Artikel beschrieben wird das wohl eher noch eine einfache Version sein aus dem was aktuell alles entwickelt wird.