UK enters next stage of 'loyal wingman' project

Spirit AeroSystems in Belfast will lead Team Mosquito in the next phase of a project to develop the RAF’s Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA) concept, with a full-scale flight-test programme expected by the end of 2023.

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According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) the uncrewed combat aircraft will be designed to fly alongside fighter jets and will be armed with missiles, surveillance and electronic warfare technology. The so-called ‘loyal wingman’ will be the UK’s first uncrewed aircraft that can target and shoot down enemy aircraft and survive against surface-to-air missiles.

In a statement, Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, Chief of the Air Staff said: “We’re taking a revolutionary approach, looking at a game-changing mix of swarming drones and uncrewed fighter aircraft like Mosquito, alongside piloted fighters like Tempest, that will transform the combat battlespace in a way not seen since the advent of the jet age.”