Recently, the Australian Air Force completed the concept validation of the MQ-28 "Ghost Bat" unmanned wingman and E-7A "Wedge Tail" early warning aircraft for coordinated operations. During the test, one operator on the E-7A "Wedge Tail" early warning aircraft controlled two MQ-28 "Ghost Bat" unmanned wingmen to attack the target. Subsequently, the MQ-28 "Ghost Bat" unmanned wingman is planned to conduct more collaborative tests with manned fighter jets such as the F-15 and F/A-18. A series of practical validations have brought unmanned wingmen closer to real-world applications. Multiple countries are accelerating the deployment of unmanned wingmen, emphasizing coordination with manned combat aircraft, and improving the overall combat effectiveness of air formations through close cooperation. This new combat mode has attracted many countries to invest resources in research and development. The United States started early and invested heavily in the field of unmanned wingers. In 2015, the US military officially proposed the concept of coordinated operations between manned combat aircraft and unmanned wingmen, and subsequently launched multiple projects. In 2021, the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned refueling aircraft completed aerial refueling tests with the US Navy F/A-18 fighter jet, and subsequently conducted aerial refueling tests with the E-2D early warning aircraft and F-35C fighter jet. In the "Jade Flag" military exercise held in October 2024, the XQ-58A "Valkyrie" drone demonstrated coordinated combat with four F-35B fighter jets from the US Marine Corps and two F-15EX fighter jets from the US Air Force. Currently, the US military is accelerating the development of unmanned wing aircraft projects, such as the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, which have higher autonomy. The plan is for the F-22 fighter jet to control the next generation of unmanned wing aircraft. Meanwhile, the US military also plans to purchase 1000 low-cost unmanned wingmen by 2030. Europe is not willing to fall behind in the field of unmanned wingers. France has joined forces with Sweden, Italy, Spain, Greece, Switzerland and other countries to promote the validation project of the "Neuron" unmanned wingman and design a manned/unmanned collaborative combat plan for the "Rafale" and "Typhoon" fighter jets. With the support of governments and military forces in multiple European countries, European defense companies are accelerating the development of unmanned wingman projects. In May 2024, with the assistance of the UK Defense Technology Laboratory, Navy, and Air Force Operations Center, Quinetiq successfully conducted a joint combat test between manned combat aircraft and the "Banshee 80" autonomous jet drone. In June 2024, Airbus launched a "wingman" stealth drone prototype. The wing has a span of about 12 meters and can carry a variety of ammunition to perform tasks such as strike, jamming, reconnaissance, etc. It can cooperate with Typhoon fighter jets and F-35 fighter jets in combat. In October 2024, French company Dassault announced a development plan for a new unmanned wingman aircraft in collaboration with the Rafale F5 fighter jet. German company Helsing and Airbus are jointly developing an artificial intelligence control system for the unmanned wingman project to enhance its ability to autonomously execute tasks. In May of this year, Airbus collaborated with the Spanish Navy to conduct a concept validation of the "flexible rotor" unmanned aerial vehicle and H135 helicopter coordinated combat, accumulating experience for unmanned wingman and helicopter coordinated combat. Russia launches S-70 Hunter unmanned wingman, planning to partner with Su-57 fighter jets to enhance air combat capabilities. Türkiye has promoted the construction of unmanned wingman system with "Khan" fighter as the core, and incorporated "Anka-3", "Red Apple" and other unmanned aerial vehicles into the cooperative combat system, so as to realize the cooperative use of manned combat aircraft and multiple unmanned wingmen. South Korea has announced the "Loyal Companion" project to develop LOWUS unmanned aerial vehicles for use in conjunction with KF-21 and FA-50 fighter jets. It is expected to conduct a manned/unmanned collaborative combat concept validation in 2027. Focusing on practical needs, after years of exploration and practice, countries have formed a clearer understanding of the positioning, functions, and roles of unmanned wingmen, and related research and development directions have also been adjusted to better meet the actual needs of modern battlefields. The positioning is clearer. Unmanned wingmen are different from large unmanned aerial vehicles such as MQ-9 Predator and TB-2, which focus on independent combat, as well as small low-cost swarm drones with numerical advantages as the core. Its core feature lies in forming functional complementarity and tactical synergy with manned combat aircraft, making it a force multiplier for future air combat operations. With the cooperation of unmanned wingmen, the perception dimension and combat range of manned combat aircraft are expanded, and the combat effectiveness of single manned combat aircraft and unmanned wingmen is close to or even reaches the level of traditional multi aircraft formations. Due to the need for unmanned wingmen to collaborate with advanced manned combat aircraft, countries have raised higher requirements for the overall performance of unmanned wingmen. The US XQ-58A Valkyrie drone features a trapezoidal fuselage, V-shaped tail, and S-shaped air intake design to reduce radar reflection cross-sectional area. It can fly up to a maximum altitude of 13000 meters and a maximum speed of 0.85 Mach, enabling it to quickly reach mission areas in complex battlefield environments. The new type of unmanned wingman being developed by France, drawing on the stealth technology scheme of the "neuron" unmanned aerial vehicle, plans to be equipped with the "Safran" M88 engine used in the "Rafale" fighter jet to meet the requirements of coordinated combat with manned combat aircraft. More comprehensive functionality. Unlike manned combat aircraft with distinct functional characteristics, unmanned wingmen emphasize greater specialization and versatility. Most of the unmanned wingmen under development and validation adopt modular pod design, which can quickly replace reconnaissance, surveillance, communication relay or attack components according to mission requirements, reducing equipment support and maintenance costs and improving battlefield deployment flexibility. For example, even the MQ-25 "Stingray" positioned as an unmanned refueling aircraft can be equipped with electro-optical pods to carry out reconnaissance missions, and if necessary, can also hang missiles at the pod position to carry out ground attack missions. The technology is more mature. At present, mainstream unmanned wingmen are mostly at a semi autonomous level and rely on instructions from manned combat aircraft to complete operations. The stability and reliability of their onboard communication systems are particularly important. In view of this, many countries are accelerating the progress of related technology research and development. The UK has announced the installation of an onboard command and control system for the interoperability mission of the "Banshee 80" autonomous jet unmanned aerial vehicle. The system uses an information format consistent with the NATO standard Link16 data link to communicate with manned combat aircraft, while reducing the risk of communication interruption by installing gateway devices. In June this year, Türkiye announced that the "Khan" fighter could communicate with UAVs such as "Anka-3" in real time through the new safe flight data link developed locally, and said that the data link reached specific technical indicators in terms of bandwidth, transmission volume and anti electronic interference. Analysts generally believe that manned combat aircraft and unmanned wingman formations will be the basic composition of air combat forces in the next 10 to 15 years, with broad development prospects. Against the backdrop of the difficulty of achieving new breakthroughs in manned combat aircraft in the short term, the development of unmanned wingmen may have a significant impact on future battlefields and therefore receive more attention. Currently, unmanned wingmen mainly cooperate with manned combat aircraft to carry out missions. In the future, with the development of artificial intelligence and related technologies, its functions may be further expanded. In May 2024, then US Air Force Secretary Kendall boarded the X-62A fighter jet piloted by artificial intelligence and experienced the aircraft's autonomous completion of tactical actions such as rolling, hovering, and breakthrough, highlighting the potential of artificial intelligence technology to undertake critical tasks in real aerial combat environments. With the development of such technologies, unmanned wingmen will have the ability to autonomously perform more complex tasks in the future, driving the manned/unmanned collaborative combat mode into a new stage. Unmanned wingmen can serve as a vanguard force for aerial breakthroughs, a protective force for manned combat aircraft, and a support force for providing refueling, communication relay, and other support. Meanwhile, its relatively low manufacturing and personnel training costs provide conditions for large-scale equipment and use. Some predict that in the future, air combat forces may form a three-layer combat system consisting of manned combat aircraft, unmanned wingmen, and ordinary drones. (New Society)