Boeing says it has successfully shown that a single unmanned aerial vehicle operator can control several UAVs at once using its Distributed Information-Centralized Decision autonomous mission control software. In its demonstration, a single operator controlled three Scan-Eagle UAVs, receiving a “field-generated” target location from an Airborne Warning and Control System operator console that, in turn, requested video coverage of the target. The UAVs beamed the video back to the AWACS operator, who “tasked” a strike aircraft. Ed Froese, Boeing’s VP for ISR systems, said that the DI-CD would free UAV operators from “micro-managing the routes and other activities.”
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.