Northrop Grumman has flight tested the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node—an Internet-based communications relay and information server that, flying at extremely high altitude, extends the range of line-of-sight radios to relay data to airborne and surface-based units. It can even link, via satellite, to distant command centers. USAF and Northrop flew the BACN aboard a high-flying NASA WB-57 test aircraft, acting a surrogate for USAF’s RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV. Officials plan to evaluate the system further during the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment in April.
Skyborg Makes First Flight Aboard Kratos Mako
May 5, 2021
The Skyborg software and hardware suite allowing unmanned aircraft to team with crewed ones flew for the first time April 29, the Air Force said, launching a series of experiments meant to prove the safety and effectiveness of the approach.