Overview
Countries worldwide are developing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to enable autonomous execution of combat tasks with minimal human intervention, especially beyond human control ranges where autonomous attack capability is desirable. However, UAVs remain machines and struggle to make optimal rapid decisions in rapidly changing battlefield conditions. They also face excessive dependency on satellite navigation, limited responsiveness to sudden battlefield changes, and reduced convenience for human control as distance from control nodes increases. For these reasons, manned aircraft and UAVs typically operate in a human-in-the-loop command and human-machine interaction model.
UAVs Deployed with Manned Units at Distance from Control Nodes
Operational plans are the foundation of combat preparation. For each operation, both sides must develop thorough plans based on enemy forces, friendly forces, and battlefield conditions. One important element is joint-operation plans among different services. Such plans specify times, locations, directions, sequences, and strike targets for coordination between manned aircraft and UAVs. This is a basic method for joint campaign command and coordination.
On future battlefields, UAVs are unlikely to replace manned combat aircraft as an independent branch for complex missions. They are usually assigned to air force units under unified command and primarily carry out high-risk or breakthrough tasks. On land, UAVs can serve as the initial wave of aerial weapons, performing offensive strikes, reconnaissance, and guiding manned aircraft to targets. At sea, UAVs and unmanned surface vessels can carry various sensors and detect land and ship radars for maritime search, early warning, anti-submarine, and anti-ship missions. Navy-assigned UAVs can use sonobuoys and other equipment to confirm enemy contacts and relay bearing information back to commanders aboard manned warships to guide fire and effect destruction.
In November 2020, the MQ-9A Block V from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems deployed ten different types of sonobuoys at a U.S. Navy Pacific test range, successfully demonstrating anti-submarine capability and validating the feasibility of UAV-based anti-submarine operations. In aerial combat, UAVs can perform reconnaissance, search, and electronic deception, and act as wingmen alongside manned combat aircraft. Manned aircraft serve as networked nodes while UAVs advance to engage, reducing risk to crewed platforms. UAVs can support fire support, battlefield reconnaissance, electronic warfare, communications relay and strike guidance, operate in mixed formations with manned aircraft, or launch swarms of smaller UAVs to provide layered support.
Manned Control of UAV Operations
In this collaborative model, manned aircraft and UAV forces operate jointly across domains toward a common objective. Manned combat aircraft act as the primary weapon and edge, coordinating coherent actions to achieve the mission.
UAVs exploit advantages such as high mobility, low cost, and lower observability to execute missions under adverse or high-risk conditions, reducing the risk to manned aircraft. Manned aircraft then command and control UAVs through human-machine interaction. Coordination methods include temporal separation, where manned and unmanned systems alternate or act simultaneously against targets; target-based coordination, where different assets engage separate targets or attack the same target from different directions at the same or different times; spatial coordination across outer space, high altitude, mid/low altitude, sea surface, and subsurface; and area coordination for ground operations and overall campaign command.
In land operations, dismounted troops can carry micro-UAVs or fabricate UAVs on-site using 4D printing for reconnaissance of concealed targets. Concepts of modular design allow soldiers to assemble UAVs from components in backpacks or print UAVs as needed. Ground manned forces can launch UAVs for reconnaissance, remote strikes, or permit UAVs to autonomously engage and destroy armored targets based on the tactical situation. They can also receive support from robotic units for positional assaults or integrated manned-robotic-unmanned operations. A single manned combat aircraft may control several small UAVs; once a UAV detects a target it transmits data to the manned aircraft, and the pilot assigns tasks. Larger crewed aircraft could control nearby UAV squadrons or swarms. A fighter can function as a flying sensor-compute node, aggregating data, conducting analysis, and presenting conclusions on the pilot's helmet display. The pilot then integrates information, the mission plan, battlefield context, and onboard weapons to issue commands to UAVs, effecting manned-led coordination. In other words, mixed manned-unmanned formations shift some control from ground stations to airborne control under direct pilot command.
In 2020, Russian armed forces and robotics institutes conducted cooperative exercises with newly developed combat robots, reporting positive results. During an airborne exercise on Alexandra Land in the Arctic, paratroopers used UAVs to locate simulated enemy encampments, guided attack aircraft against them, and employed UAVs to assist mortar fire adjustment.
In the U.S., the Air Force Research Laboratory initiated the "Loyal Wingman" project in mid-2015, and demonstrated unmanned prototypes such as the UTAP-22 "Mako" and XQ-222 (now XQ-58A "Valkyrie") at the 2017 Paris Air Show. Designed as wingmen for next-generation manned fighters, these UAVs emphasize maneuverability, reduced observability, and the ability to carry weapons and sensors, enabling fighter pilots to command UAV wingmen and enhance manned-unmanned coordination. Flight demonstrations built on earlier autonomy tests and continued to validate the endurance of UAV groups in complex airborne mobile-target designation tasks.
Ad Hoc Autonomous Coordination Between Manned Fighters and UAVs
Joint campaign command must view manned and unmanned coordination from the campaign-level intent and correctly determine the command coordination lead. The lead is the force or action that plays a dominant role in coordination and should be selected based on campaign intent, phase objectives, participating manned and unmanned units, and the roles of strike actions. Generally, naval campaigns are led by the navy, air campaigns by the air force, and land campaigns by the army. This alignment enables optimization of manned and unmanned combat forces across levels, spaces, times, and regions to strike the enemy cohesively. The lead is not fixed and may change as the campaign develops, allowing for temporary, autonomous coordination as needed.
Recent reports note that Russian forces delivered the S-70 "Okhotnik" heavy strike UAV for operations. The S-70, developed from 2012 onward, is intended as an unmanned companion to the Su-57. It debuted in 2019 with a flying-wing layout similar to the U.S. B-2 stealth bomber. The S-70 is designed for reconnaissance and strike missions, with a maximum speed up to 1,400 km/h and a range up to 6,000 km. It can carry roughly 3 tons of timed bombs or cruise missiles. UAVs can enter the battlefield early for reconnaissance, helping manned aircraft rapidly establish situational awareness and avoid delays from repeated adjustments as the situation changes, while also extending strike depth. In future conflicts, UAV units capable of self-detection, search, reconnaissance, deception, data analysis, and autonomous attack could detect targets and immediately relay bearing and target-type data to manned commanders or operators, or autonomously engage high-priority targets based on changing battlefield conditions. Future manned-unmanned operational models are likely to use manned fighters as command hubs and cost-effective, mobile, low-observable UAVs with strong strike capability as primary offensive forces to achieve integrated sensing, C2, weapon delivery, and battle damage assessment.
