The first flight of Boeing's unmanned aircraft Loyal Wingman has taken place at the Woomera Range Complex in South Australia. Developed by Boeing in partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Loyal Wingman is the first military aircraft to be designed and manufactured in Australia in more than 50 years. The vehicle is the prototype for Boeing's Airpower Teaming System (ATS), an Al-powered autonomous aircraft that can assist other crewed and uncrewed platforms in military operations. Its maiden sortie saw Loyal Wingman complete a successful take-off under its own power before flying a pre-determined route at different speeds and altitudes to verify flight functionality and demonstrate the performance of the ATS design. Air Vice-Marshal Cath Roberts, RAAF Head of Air Force Capability, said that Loyal Wingman is a pathfinder for the integration of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence to create smart human-machine teams.
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