Qinetiq has demonstrated a system that allows one jet to co-ordinate a number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), instead of using one operator per vehicle. This allows the reduction of the number of personnel teleoperating UAVs since they are complemented by a self-organising computer:
QinetiQ has successfully completed the world's first flight demonstration of a system capable of controlling and autonomously organising multiple unmanned aircraft. The successful flight trial was conducted to support the concept of using a package of self-organising unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) under the control of an operator flying in a fast jet.
An autonomy computer using agent-based reasoning software in the surrogate UAV was responsible for the self-organising of the UAV package at a tactical level and the operation of communication systems, sensors and weapons. The trial is a world first in demonstrating such a complex system in flight which greatly reduces the workload of the human operator.
During the flight trial the BAC1-11 flew and operated as if it was unmanned, being directed from a command station designed for use in a fast jet. Throughout the demonstration, flown from Boscombe Down airfield in Wiltshire at the end of October, a flight crew was retained for safety monitoring and control during takeoff and landing. This enabled the flight to take place largely in uncontrolled airspace over South West England without requiring special clearance.