For more than a decade, the U.S. military has been looking forward to the day when fighter pilots would no longer fly fighter jets -- because the jets would fly themselves. With the inauguration of the Air Force's new drone project, dubbed "Skyborg Vanguard," that day looks closer than ever.
A project comprising both hardware and software elements, Skyborg Vanguard was first announced late last month when the Department of Defense's daily digest of contract awards described a $400 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to be split among four of its biggest defense contractors.
Skyborg Vanguard envisions the development of drone aircraft that can fly autonomously on missions "that are too strenuous or dangerous for manned crews." Initially, such drones will play a supporting role, augmenting the capabilities of human pilots operating in the same battlespace by providing them with "greater situational awareness and survivability during combat missions." But over time, autonomous drones might evolve to eliminate the need for human pilots entirely.