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Advanced / Transformational Technology

Air Force Awards Second Round of Contracts to Support Skyborg Program

Frank Wolfe

Tuesday, September 29th, 2020

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Air Force Awards Second Round of Contracts to Support Skyborg Program

A Skyborg conceptual design for a low cost attritable Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle. (Air Force Research Laboratory artwork)

The U.S. Air Force on Sept. 29 awarded a second round of contracts to nine organizations for the service's Skyborg program--an effort to develop a family of attritable drones with a common artificial intelligence backbone that can train alongside manned aircraft and eventually help complete tasks, fly ahead of Air Force pilots in non-permissive environments, and create headaches for U.S. adversaries. Skyborg is one of three Air Force Vanguard programs to accelerate the fielding of new technologies. On Sept. 29,…

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