The United Kingdom has integrated Callen-Lenz production semi-autonomous UAV into the mission system of the AW159 Wildcat helicopter.

“In this instance, when a helicopter crew controls a UAV from the helicopter like it was an onboard sensor being controlled from the cockpit. By integrating control of the UAV into the Wildcat Mission System, Leonardo was able to minimise the pilots’ workload allowing them to focus more on the mission whilst simultaneously controlling the UAV – this is the first time such an integrated capability has been demonstrated in the UK on a military aircraft,” says a company press release.

The trial was announced as London's first military helicopter-drone integration.

By minimizing pilots' workload, integration that creates different focal points when simultaneously controlling the UAV offers an efficient and effective mission-based Human Machine Interface (HMI) instead of more operators.

The combination of the two platforms is expected to increase the air force's situational awareness and capability.