Lockheed Martin says it has conducted a successful operator-in-the-loop flight test of the Low-Cost Autonomous Attack System at Eglin AFB, Fla. LOCAAS is an autonomous, wide-area search miniature munition that is equipped with laser radar seeker. Launched from a King Air 200 and flying more than 40 nautical miles in 15 minutes, the weapon used its laser radar seeker to search, identify, and report on targets in a planned mission search area. The Air Force Research Lab’s munitions directorate oversees the testing and provide a “flight-rated operator.” Lockheed says that LOCASS has flown five successful flights, one of which featured a live warhead.
Unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous aircraft may provide a solution to operating in heavily contested domains such as the Taiwan Straits, according to a panel of expert who suggested operationalizing artificial intelligence for such purposes sooner rather than later. The group gathered virtually to help launch the Mitchell Institute for…