The U.S. Air Force announced it has conducted the first test flight of a prototype drone fighter jet.
“The aircraft, designated YFQ-42A and developed in partnership with General Atomics, flew at a California test location contributing valuable data to continued evaluations of platform airworthiness, flight autonomy, and mission system integration,” the service said in an Aug. 27 press statement.
Earlier this year, the Air Force announced it had provided the first-ever prototype fighter designations to two different unmanned aerial vehicles, the General Atomics YFQ-42A and the Anduril Industries YFQ-44A.
The Air Force is evaluating both jet-powered drones for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, which seeks to pair manned and unmanned fighter aircraft….