Airbus Defense and Space and Helsing, Europe's leading AI and defense software company, signed a framework cooperation agreement at the ILA aerospace fair in Berlin. Under the agreement, the companies will work together on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that will be used in a future Wingman system. This fighter-type unmanned aircraft will operate alongside current fighter jets and take its tasks from a pilot on a command aircraft like the Eurofighter.
Airbus also presents its Wingman concept for the first time at ILA. As a response to the growing operational requirements of the German Air Force, Wingman aims to increase the capabilities of manned combat aircraft with unmanned platforms that can carry weapons and other effectors.
“The current conflicts on Europe’s borders show how important air superiority is,” said Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defense and Space. “The manned and unmanned team will play a central role in achieving air superiority: with an unmanned Wingman at their side, fighter pilots can operate outside the danger zone. The wingman then takes on the dangerous tasks, including reconnaissance and destruction of targets or electronic jamming and deception of enemy air defense systems.
“While we will always have a human in the loop, we must realize that the most dangerous parts of an unmanned mission will have a high degree of autonomy and therefore require AI,” said Gundbert Scherf, Co-CEO of Helsing. “From processing sensor data to optimizing subsystems to closing the loop at the system level: software-defined capabilities and AI will be a critical component of the Wingman system for the German Air Force.”
Under the of the AI agreement, Airbus will provide its expertise in the interaction of unmanned and manned military aircraft, so-called Teaming-Unmanned Teaming, and as prime contractor for major European defense programs such as the Eurofighter or the A400M military transporter. Helsing will contribute its AI stack of software-defined mission-relevant capabilities, including the fusion of multiple sensors and algorithms for electronic warfare.
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