Skyborg

Northrop Grumman’s Scaled Composites has unveiled a low-cost model of an optionally crewed aircraft designed to fly alongside manned aircraft in a “loyal wingman” role.

The US Air Force test flew an unmanned aerial vehicle last month carrying a hardware/software autonomy suite for the first time, the service said.

A US Air Force Valkyrie drone launched another drone from its internal bay for the first time during a test flight last month.

Pentagon said Skyborg is an autonomous attritable aircraft "capable of achieving a diverse set of missions to generate massed combat power; delivering a future Air Force which can deter, blunt and defeat peer adversaries."