Boeing has completed Phase 2 UAV testing in UK
Four UAVs on the runway at Snowdonia Aerospace Centre in Llanbedr, Wales. (Photo: Boeing).
Boeing completed the second phase of its UAV testing in the UK with an Air Launched Effect mission to identify and jam an ‘enemy’ signal.
Boeing has completed a second phase of UK flight trials for its autonomous aerial systems.
In July, 2024, the company carried out a representative Air Launched Effect (ALE) mission at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, in Llanbedr, Wales.
The mission consisted of flying four fixed-wing Albatross Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), working as a team to detect and jam a radio frequency being transmitted by an ‘enemy’ target.
Each of the four UAVs used multispectral machine vision and novel search algorithms, both to react to their challenging Welsh environment and to respond ‘intelligently’ to the other vehicles on their team.
The second phase of tests built upon the systems’ first flight trials in 2023. Those initial tests used an adaptable autonomy software framework to build intelligent behaviours that could be deployed on multiple platforms, said Steve Burnell, managing director of Boeing Defence UK.
The phase two trials added new capabilities, including autonomous platform-to-platform teaming. That increased the range from which positions could be targeted, meaning the platforms could cover more ground with higher confidence of accurate target identity and location.
“As defence forces move towards greater adoption of autonomous and AI technologies, this test programme could be the cornerstone of future autonomous collaborative platforms in the UK,” Burnell claimed.
Boeing regards the speed with which the autonomy software framework has shifted from simulation to live testing as key to capitalising on the development: the evolution from theory to proven practice has taken less than 12 months. Given the rapid rise and increasing deployment of UAVs around the world, reliability with a short testing window could become a critical factor in winning orders and deployment.
The company believes low-cost, reliable ALEs will become a force multiplier when deployed alongside crewed platforms on the battlefield.
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