The Air Force Special Operations Command is taking drone warfare to a new frontier with its Adaptive Airborne Enterprise initiative. The ambitious project will revolutionize the operational scope of the 27th Special Operations Wing’s Remotely Piloted Aircraft community and its industry partners through a series of capability demonstrations.
This was in line with the 2022 US National Defense Strategy, and AFSOC has shifted the focus of operations from Counter-Violent Extremist Organization to countering near-peer and peer adversaries in contested or denied environments. A2E directly addresses this strategic pivot, evolving MQ-9 Reaper use beyond the traditional ISR and strike roles.
“Adaptive Airborne Enterprise is vital to thickening the Joint Force kill web throughout the spectrum of conflict and continues to be AFSOC’s #1 acquisition priority,” said Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, AFSOC commander. He added that the innovative spirit of Air Commandos is driving the A2E concept forward through continuous development and multiple demonstrations in the coming years.
A2E is organized into five phases, with the first three already underway. Phase one will transition the fleet to a government-owned UAS command and control interface, replacing the legacy fixed RPA control system. This new interface will decrease the deployed footprint of RPA crews and afford operators the capability to fly different aircraft from austere locations from the back of an AC-130, from a home station, or even from urban environments.
“In the future, we’d like to take this from where we’ve fought in the past, a more permissive environment, to contested and denied spaces,” said Maj. Lindsay Scott, AFSOC Headquarters Rapid Capabilities Development Chief of Autonomous Capabilities. The point is to ensure there is continuous operation effectiveness on the battlefield.
The second phase will make the single crew control multiple MQ-9s, beyond the historical standard of one crew per aircraft. As Maj. Joshua Radford, director of the 27th Special Operations Group’s RPA Operations Center said, AFSOC is evolving toward a model where either a crew or just one operator controls multiple aircraft and, eventually, even diverse platforms.
During the third phase, one crew will handle multiple types of UASs, everything from the small systems like the RQ-11B Raven to larger ones such as the MQ-9A Reaper. The single crews in phase four will manage formations of UASs from mobile and austere locations, culminating in the last phase: the creation of new effects-based ISR units. These units will bring together UASs, forward-deployed ground forces, cyber operators, and space operators to work together in applying UAS capabilities against any environment.
Demonstrations at Cannon AFB in 2023 concluded with the validation of many of the A2E capabilities put forward over the initial phases. Most important was that one RPA crew controlled three MQ-9s on one common control interface and air-launched a Group 2 sUAS from an MQ-9A. The next demonstration will occur in Summer 2024.
With the development of the capability to cue standoff sensor payloads on sUAS by the MQ-9 and its crews, swarms of AVs will be controllable from anywhere. AFSOC is committed to continued A2E-compatible development and procurement enabling MQ-9 to act as a “mothership” for sUAS and loitering munition C2 and as a node for data transport in mesh networks.
Coupled with Artificial Intelligence technologies and an advanced Human Machine Interface, these mesh networks will enable AFSOC crews to operate multiple large and small UASs in concert; providing the ability to cover more terrain and prosecute more targets in currently inaccessible environments.
“We depend on our innovative Air Commandos and industry experts to develop, experiment, and grow this concept,” Bauernfeind said. AFSOC is committed to pushing this capability forward supported by defense partners and decision-makers who have made the acquisition a priority.
By partnering with industry defense partners and innovative Air Commandos, A2E is transforming the current AFSOC MQ-9 enterprise into a robust UAS architecture fully capable of delivering specialized airpower in any conflict scenario place, anytime, anywhere.