Air Force Picks 3 Makers for ‘Skyborg’ Drone Wingman
The XQ-58A Valkyrie completed the third flight of the Low Cost Attritable Strike Demonstration program Oct. 9, 2019 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. (Air Force photo/Joshua Hoskins)
15 Dec 2020
The U.S. Air Force has selected three defense companies to produce unmanned aerial vehicle prototypes for its Skyborg program, which will pair a drone guided by artificial intelligence with a human piloting a fighter jet.
The service last week awarded contracts to Boeing Co., $25.7 million; General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, $14.3 million; and Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems, $37.8 million. Each will build a drone within a 24-month period, according to an Air Force release. The service did not specify how many prototype vehicles each company should produce and did not provide design specification criteria.