F-22 Commands Drone in Flight, Demonstrating Control of Uncrewed Aerial System

Lockheed Martin has successfully demonstrated control of an uncrewed aerial system (UAS) from the cockpit of an F-22 Raptor during a flight from Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas. According to AeroTime, the test marks a significant step toward future air-combat concepts built around human-machine coordination. The company’s Vice President and General Manager, OJ Sanchez, said the demonstration represents a breakthrough in air combat capability, where single-seat aircraft command and control drones with simple and intuitive interfaces in the cockpit. Lockheed Martin has developed a family of onboard and offboard technologies intended to allow advanced fighters to work with support drones, sensor nodes, and other distributed assets across multiple mission sets.