Recently, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced that its Advanced Unmanned Ground Facility Launch and Recovery (ANCILLRY) program (also known as the "Assistant" program in Chinese) has selected design proposals from two companies to enter the next stage of bidding. This marks a further step forward in the unmanned carrier based aircraft development process of the US Navy, which was launched two years ago. According to an analysis by a Russian media source citing an intelligence database, the development philosophy of the US Navy is undergoing changes driven by military technology. The US Navy is attempting to maximize the use of unmanned air and sea (surface and underwater) technology, changing the traditional aircraft carrier form of manned aircraft as carrier based aircraft and reshaping the maritime combat landscape. In September 2022, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency launched the "Assistant" program to develop a new type of vertical takeoff and landing drone that can take off and land from ship decks or the ground in most weather conditions without the need for launch and recovery assistance equipment. At the end of May this year, the bureau announced that the "Assistant" program would enter the next bidding stage. In fact, since 2004, the US military has never stopped researching vertical takeoff and landing fixed wing aircraft, accumulating relevant technical and engineering experience, and providing important support for the development of vertical takeoff and landing fixed wing aircraft. The "assistant" drone can perform takeoff and landing operations in a limited space without the need for auxiliary equipment. This type of vertical takeoff and landing drone has significant advantages compared to wing type drones, and also surpasses most unmanned helicopters in terms of speed and economy. It can perform complex tasks, reduce auxiliary personnel, and lower production and operating costs. According to the rendering of the "Assistant" drone released earlier by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the drone features a streamlined shape, a variable fuselage, and foldable wings. Three propellers are installed in the circular channel behind the wing, and the tail unit is Y-shaped. A spherical electro-optical reconnaissance payload is mounted below the nose of the aircraft, and there is a small internal cargo hold in the middle of the fuselage that can carry bombs and has firepower strike capability. When taking off, the "assistant" drone does not require any auxiliary equipment. It takes off vertically with the help of the lift generated by the propeller. After reaching a certain altitude and speed, the fuselage turns to a horizontal state, and the wings open to enter level flight mode. Before landing, the aircraft returns to a vertical position and slowly lands on the ground. From the picture, the "assistant" drone includes three sets of propellers and foldable main wings, which can deflect as a whole with the aircraft. In terms of power, the "assistant" drone abandons conventional gas turbines and adopts a hybrid power system and high-density batteries or fuel cells as power sources. Due to the small amount of energy generated by the battery, lightweight design is the key to the design of this vertical takeoff and landing drone. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency believes that this goal can be achieved through advanced structural and manufacturing technologies. The drone is expected to undergo flight testing in 2026. The combination of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and surface vessels to create a drone carrier "assistant" can help enhance the maritime combat capabilities of surface vessels. This type of drone can perform stable takeoff and landing operations on the deck of a ship. After completing the assembly of the drone, the personnel on board can operate the drone to take off through a tablet computer and obtain intelligence information through the electro-optical payload carried under the drone's head. After deploying multiple "assistant" drones on top of a warship, it transforms into a drone carrier, which can achieve reconnaissance and firepower coverage over a large sea area around the ship. In addition, drone carriers have a high cost-effectiveness ratio. The research and manufacturing costs of a single unmanned aerial vehicle are much lower than those of a manned aircraft, including the development and pilot training costs. Due to the low dependence of "assistant" drones on infrastructure, the US Navy only needs to make appropriate modifications to existing surface vessels to create a mother ship that can carry a large number of drones. The US Department of Defense believes that "unmanned" can endow naval fleets with stronger "anti access/area denial" combat capabilities. With the help of "assistant" drones, ships have stronger adaptability to some dangerous, tedious, harsh, and deep inland tasks. There are technical challenges. Currently, most large and medium-sized military drones have certain requirements for takeoff and landing sites, and some large and medium-sized military drones also need auxiliary devices to complete takeoff and landing operations, which limits their practical application. To address this issue, the US Defense Research Projects Agency has launched the "Assistant" program. Currently, active drones similar in size to the "Assistant" drone, such as the US military's Deslon RQ-7 Shadow and Boeing RQ-21 Black Hawk, use turbines as their power source and require runway takeoff and landing. The "assistant" drone requires the use of electric motors and fuel cells as power sources, as well as vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. Currently, the power provided by batteries is much smaller than that of turbines, which means that the weight and structural design of the aircraft will face challenges, and the prospects of the plan are unpredictable. However, the long-term impact of this project is worth noting. Alexander Stepanov, a senior researcher at the Latin American Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that the unmanned development concept of the US Navy may lead to changes in the form, function, and operational use of future aircraft carriers. Based on this, some carrier based aircraft deployment plans being studied by the US Navy have begun to shift from complex and expensive methods such as traditional deck runway takeoff and landing and electromagnetic catapults to directly using this highly autonomous sea modular platform. The US Navy believes that if the "Assistant" program is successfully implemented, they will be able to extensively use this unmanned aerial vehicle to build a beyond visual range intelligence network, enhancing their combat capabilities in the Pacific region. From this, it can be seen that the "Assistant" program not only seeks technological breakthroughs, but also reflects the forward-looking and flexible global military strategic layout of the US military. This deserves continuous attention. (New Society)