Airbus says it wants the Wingman drone to enter service in the 2030s and to cost about a third as much as a crewed fighter aircraft. Airbus' sleek,

The Airbus Wingman Stealth Drone: What We Learned In Berlin

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2024-06-07 01:30:03

Airbus says it wants the Wingman drone to enter service in the 2030s and to cost about a third as much as a crewed fighter aircraft.

Airbus' sleek, fighter-like stealthy Wingman uncrewed concept aircraft, which broke cover earlier this week, was formally unveiled at the ILA Berlin aerospace show today. More details have now also come to light about the program, which Airbus leadership says should provide a unit cost that’s equivalent to one-third that of a modern crewed fighter.

You can read our previous analysis of the Wingman here. The concept aircraft, which measures 39-feet wide and 51-feet long, has now officially been presented to the public, and to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had a close look at the full-scale model at ILA this morning. Meanwhile, Michael Schoellhorn, Airbus CEO, provided his vision of the program.

Previously, Schoellhorn had said that the Luftwaffe — the German Air Force — had “expressed a clear need” for a drone that would be able to operate in conjunction with crewed fighters before the arrival in service of the pan-European Future Combat Air System (FCAS). The FCAS program is aiming for service entry in the 2040s, with a crewed New Generation Fighters (NGF) as its centerpiece.