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XQ-67A: the autonomous combat drone made its maiden flight

Among fighters and flying cars, the United States Air Force released a different video: of the inaugural flight of the XQ-67A drone. But it's not just any drone: the combat aircraft is autonomous and will serve as training for army fighter pilots.

The flight took place on February 28 this year and shows the drone flying over the skies of Palmdale, California, after leaving Gray Butte Field Airport. There were no crew on board.

The XQ-67A drone is not just any drone. It is in its second generation and is part of a US Air Force program to automate its fleet (it can be autonomous or manned, depending on the need).

The model has a chassis common to other aircraft in the program, described as “faster, more maneuverable, with less resistance and better range”. This common feature allows not only the sharing of knowledge and improvements between them (such as design and aerodynamics, for example), but also the presence of a single base fuselage for the entire family of aircraft in the fleet.

Along with two other Air Force models (the X-62 VISTA and the F-16 VENOM), the current drone will be used to assist in the development of army officers. The intention is for them to train on the drone to become fighter pilots who are more prepared to complete missions, rather than just knowing how to fly in combat.

The inaugural flight announced by the Air Force was the first of others that took place in February;

The objective was to check the general functioning of the drone and its safety;

Testing the model's autonomy, the drone had no crew and was controlled remotely with a controller.

by General Atomics