At DSEI in London, Leonardo UK spoke about their Proteus plane, detailing latest demonstrations of its autonomous functionality in artificial ASW trials and stressing that the present airframe is simply a low-cost testbed for the know-how reasonably than the ultimate product.
The corporate was eager to level out that its Proteus demonstrator is “not…somebody sat in a cabin someplace with a joystick” however reasonably a roadmap to true autonomy, capable of plan routes, keep away from threats, collaborate with different plane, and execute missions with out fixed human enter.
Nigel Colman, Managing Director Helicopters UK, Leonardo, tied the venture on to the Royal Navy’s personal doctrine. “That is concerning the Royal Navy’s maritime aviation transformation technique… crewed solely the place attainable, uncrewed wherever attainable. That’s the place Proteus suits in.”
Proteus has been in growth with the Ministry of Defence and Defence Tools and Assist since 2013, however Colman emphasised its agile, adaptive method reasonably than inflexible milestones.
The present £60 million part has centered closely on autonomy, with artificial trials exhibiting three Proteus techniques detecting a submarine menace, sharing data, and allocating duties amongst themselves. “We’ve demonstrated that to the Royal Navy at senior stage,” he mentioned, describing the autonomy package deal because the “brains” inside a short lived “physique.”
Leonardo put explicit weight on the artificial trials already accomplished, presenting them as proof that Proteus’ autonomy isn’t hypothetical however working now. Colman defined that “we’ve accomplished some actually good artificial demonstrations, which incorporates actual {hardware}, , the actual software program that we now have flown within the artificial setting. So we now have flown three Proteus thus far, collectively, collaboratively.”
He confused that these techniques got an ASW mission to “discover, repair and kill the submarine,” and that the plane then “communicated amongst themselves, determined which asset is finest to cope with…that potential menace or challenge, and allotted threats accordingly.” This, he mentioned, had already been proven “to Royal Navy at senior stage in latest months” and was described as “a extremely spectacular functionality.” The message to reporters was clear: the brains of the system are the actual achievement, they usually have already been confirmed in simulation, reasonably than being a distant aspiration.
On the identical time, the corporate was cautious to downplay the bodily airframe proven on the briefing, framing it as a short lived and pragmatic answer reasonably than the top product. Colman informed journalists that “this isn’t what a Proteus would appear like sooner or later…Fenestron and tail rotors are most likely not excellent in a extremely excessive sea state, excessive winds on the again of a ship within the North Atlantic. This isn’t a super platform, but it surely’s low threat, it’s low value, and it provides us the chance to check the applied sciences and the autonomy.”
He added that “the brains is the vital bit and the place we’ve been focusing,” making clear that the worth lies within the autonomy package deal reasonably than the demonstrator itself. “My view has all the time been that we don’t truly must fly this explicit something, as a result of we will absolutely take a look at the digital twin and the vital autonomous bits in a single, higher artificial setting,” he mentioned, earlier than conceding that “our buyer and our companion needs us to try this, so we fly.”
The corporate’s goal is to make sure that protection displays Proteus as a step on the trail to a future household of autonomous techniques, reasonably than this particular plane being mistaken for the ultimate product. The emphasis was on modularity. Massive aspect panels conceal areas the place NATO pallet-sized payloads will be swapped out and in, permitting the system to deal with anti-submarine, anti-surface, ISR, search and rescue, and even early warning missions.
Leonardo place Proteus as a response to the necessity for inexpensive mass in anti-submarine warfare. Uncrewed techniques may keep on station longer than a Merlin, with out the restrictions of aircrew fatigue. Additionally they cut back manpower necessities at a time when naval aviation is struggling to maintain numbers.
Requested about future milestones, Colman confirmed that the prototype is constructed and attributable to fly this yr following floor runs. He admitted that the actual functionality lies within the autonomy software program reasonably than the precise demonstrator plane. “Should you’ve acquired the appropriate autonomous software program and the appropriate accreditation, you may put that into something,” he mentioned, pointing to Leonardo’s wider portfolio from gentle Wildcats to the 16-tonne AW101.
The corporate additionally positioned the work as sovereign and exportable, noting efforts to maintain it ITAR-free and related to abroad companions reminiscent of Japan. The cultural challenges of shifting the Fleet Air Arm towards uncrewed techniques have been acknowledged, however Colman argued the trajectory was clear. “I can’t think about placing 30 folks at the back of a Merlin and not using a pilot, that may be loopy. However instances are altering. The hybrid provider air wing idea is what we’re aiming for.”
It appears to me that Leonardo is shifting the dialog away from any single drone and towards an inevitable shift in naval aviation, with autonomy because the decisive know-how. It’s laborious to argue with that.