By Theresa Hitchens on February 04, 2021 at 2:04 PM Skyborg, AFRL artist’s image WASHINGTON: The high-priority Skyborg program to develop low-cost, autonomous drones able to team with piloted aircraft could reach initial operating capability by 2023, says AFRL Director Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle. “I’m really excited about what Skyborg has accomplished, and what we have in store,” she told the Mitchell Institute today, noting that her Air Force Research Laboratory is partnering with the PEO for fighters and advanced weapons led by Brig. Gen. Dale White. “We’re really excited about that December demo because it was a first-ever kind of opportunity to show an ‘attritable’ as a force multiplier with fifth-gen aircraft.”