At present, the United States, Russia and other countries are developing loyal wingmen. China, as a rising star, is also developing loyal wingmen. China is developing a variety of loyal wingmen, including J-20 stealth fighter and H-20 strategic Bombers develop loyal wingmen and take on the role of stealth fighters or stealth bombers to command loyal wingmen in air combat.
The Russian Air Force is preparing Su-57 fighter jets loyal wingman. The Su-57 fighter jet is paired with the S-70 "Hunter" drone. It can be called the Russian version of the "loyal wingman", and the Russian army announced that the S-70 "Hunter" has no The man-machine has a built-in bomb bay, which can carry 2.8 tons of weapons and ammunition. It is equipped with a variety of Russian-made guided and unguided munitions, air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles, and most importantly, it will be equipped with weapons such as reduced versions of Russian-made hypersonic missiles. The S-70 "Hunter" drone serves as the final version of the Russian Su-57 stealth fighter "loyal wingman" and assists the Su-57 fighter in performing various combat missions such as ground and air strikes.
The Indian media "Eurasia Times" reported that China is also developing loyal wingmen, deploying loyal wingmen for the J-20 stealth fighter jets, and leading and commanding drone groups to conduct coordinated air operations. This is also the launch of the "loyal wingman" concept by China. The concept of "loyal wingman" was first proposed by the US military. China and Russia also follow the US Air Force's "loyal wingman" concept and unanimously create loyal wingmen to assist their country's stealth fighters in future stealth operations. At the same time, the Chinese version of "loyal wingman" will also follow suit - 20 bombers conduct coordinated operations to achieve data sharing and interconnection, creating a "loyal wingman" version of China's strategic bomber.
As the Indian media said, the Chinese military is one of the many modern military forces in the world that is building new drones. This new drone concept is called a "loyal wingman". Different from traditional combat drones, the new "loyal wingman" "Integrated with the data link system of the existing fighter jets, the fighter jets command and issue combat orders, and the artificial intelligence system decides on its own to execute the lead aircraft's combat orders. Compared with traditional combat drones, the overall combat capability of the new "loyal wingman" has been significantly improved, and the new "loyal wingman" has great prospects in future wars. It can be used as a low-cost unmanned fighter jet, taking into account long-range flight capabilities and battlefield intelligence collection. Ability to assist fighter jets in performing combat missions in air combat.
The concept of "loyal wingman" is monopolized by the powerful powers of China, the United States and Russia. The principle it follows is that manned fighter jets and "loyal wingmen" conduct coordinated operations, and the "loyal wingman" flies at the front, carrying aircraft tailored to carry out combat missions. Electrical equipment such as reconnaissance equipment, weapons or electronic warfare equipment, etc., perform pre-war reconnaissance missions, relying on powerful air detection capabilities and information sharing data functions to interact with lead aircraft , equipped with air-to-air missiles and ground-to-ground missiles , can perform strike combat missions under the command and control of the lead aircraft.
At the same time, the "loyal wingman" can be used as a cheap decoy to confuse the detection of enemy fighter jets and air defense systems at critical moments, achieving the tactical goal of luring the enemy into deception and laying the foundation for subsequent attacks to launch long-range ground-attack missiles and destroy the enemy's air defense system. .
lead aircraft and wingman operate in groups, assuming the mission of "loyal wingmen". Their overall advantages include serving as "eyes and ears" to coordinate situational awareness; serving as "fangs" to coordinate air control operations; serving as "fists and feet" to coordinate air surface operations Strike; act as a "bait", cooperate with electromagnetic suppression, move from concept to battlefield, rely on the strong support of system combat capabilities to achieve intelligent upgrades, improve battlefield network systems, data resource systems, etc., and create a new systematic combat style. "Loyal wingmen" are bound to change the future battlefield situation. The United States and Russia have developed "loyal wingmen" one after another, including the United States' development of the XQ-58A "Valkyrie" loyal wingman verification aircraft, which is intended to serve as the U.S. Air Force's F-35 fighter , F/ A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets and E/A-18 electronic warfare aircraft create loyal wingmen.
The Russian Air Force is not far behind. In 2019, it announced that it will build a "loyal wingman" combat system using Su-57 fighter jets and S-70 "Hunter" drones. The S-70 drone is the Russian version of the XQ-58A Loyal Wingman verification aircraft.At the same time, India is also advancing the "loyal wingman" project, aiming to develop a "loyal wingman" for India's fifth-generation AMCA fighter jet and enhance the air combat power of India's fifth-generation fighter .
India pointed out: China has always been tight-lipped about the development of the "Loyal Wingman" project, but it is definitely China, as a rising power, that is advancing its own "Loyal Wingman" project, and China's "Loyal Wingman" project will bring "Loyal Wingman" to the world. Come to surprise and surprise.
China’s “Loyal Wingman” project has always been quite mysterious, but China is very hopeful about the prospects of “Loyal Wingman”, and China is at the forefront of the world in the field of drones. It would be a surprise if China does not develop a "loyal wingman" because China is doing absolutely everything else. At the same time, if there is a "loyal wingman" competition between China and Russia, China will be the first country to deploy a "loyal wingman".
China has launched the "Made in China" business card in the field of military drones and created a series of high-end drones such as "Pterosaur", "Yunying" and "Fengyun". Compared with the U.S. military's " Predator" and "Reaper" Man and machine are no different. The Chinese-made "Rainbow" series of "inspection and combat" drones are flying around the world, helping China promote combat concepts such as "swarm operations" and "loyal wingman". The most important thing is that China has created the Wujian-8 hypersonic reconnaissance aircraft. This indicates that China’s overall difficulty in developing a loyal wingman project is quite low.
Indian media said that China revealed the "Loyal Wingman" project in 2021 to develop a domestic "Loyal Wingman" with performance and combat missions comparable to the US military's XQ-58A "Valkyrie" loyal wingman verification aircraft, including all the characteristics of the entire "Loyal Wingman". At the Zhuhai Air Show in the same year, China launched the FH-97 UAV, a full-size model of the domestic version of the loyal wingman. It is the loyal wingman of the J-20 fighter jet. It adopts stealth aerodynamic layout , high subsonic speed, smart skin and other technologies, and has a combat radius of It has a range of 1,000 kilometers, and its overall appearance is similar to the US military's XQ-58A "loyal wingman". It is equipped with its own radar . It is a multiplier for the J-20 stealth fighter and has strong ground strike and air combat capabilities.
It is rumored that the Chinese Air Force is developing a two-seat version of the J-20A stealth fighter, which will also be equipped with a "loyal wingman" project to achieve the organic integration of China's active stealth fighters and "loyal wingmen" to perform air combat missions. The FH-97 unmanned aerial vehicle Perform operations in front of the aircraft to ensure that the stealth fighter formations remain hidden, use smart skins to passively collect data, or turn on radars in high-risk airspace to perform search missions to prevent air-to-air missiles from hitting the stealth fighter formations and die for the stealth fighters. Overall, the FH-97 UAV is the best helper in the air combat of the J-20 stealth fighter. It is equipped with PL-12/15 air-to-air missiles and performs all air support combat missions.
India said that China is developing a "loyal wingman" project for the J-20 fighter jet, and is also advancing a new "loyal wingman" project, which is combined with the ongoing development of the H-20 stealth bomber and the US Air Force to create a "loyal wingman" for the B-21 strategic bomber. "Similar in concept, this is also a highly secretive "loyal wingman" of the US military, known as a "bomber partner."
China has developed a new type of "loyal wingman" to carry the H-20 strategic bomber to enhance the survivability and long-range strike capabilities of the H-20 strategic bomber. China is advancing the "loyal wingman" project to strengthen its unmanned combat capabilities and build the "loyal wingman" unmanned combat platform , which is also the guarantee for the Chinese Air Force's fifth-generation fighter jets such as , J-20 and J-35 fighters, and the H-20 strategic bomber When survival is safe, let the "loyal wingman" play the role of "escort".
In the future, the J-20 fighter jet and the H-20 strategic bomber will fight together. The former assumes the important role of seizing air supremacy, and the latter assumes the ability to penetrate and penetrate deep into the hinterland. The new "loyal wingman" is destined to be a new type of long-range unmanned aerial vehicle. Man and machine rely on smart skins to collect data, clear obstacles for the H-20 strategic bomber, protect the H-20 bomber's strategic strike mission, acquire battlefield awareness and reconnaissance capabilities, and rely on the PL-12/15 air-to-air missile when necessary It can carry out air strike missions, or act as a decoy to deceive the enemy's air defense system and fighter aircraft, and cover the H-20 strategic bombers to strike deep into the enemy's high-value and strategic targets.
