Anduril’s jet-powered drone flew for the first time on Friday, the company and the U.S. Air Force said, marking a significant step for the defense tech company’s drone ambitions. The Los Angeles-based company, which won an Air Force contract last year to produce a prototype drone that could serve as a “loyal wingman” alongside fighter jets, demonstrated the drone’s flight at a California-based testing site, the Air Force said. The flight marks the latest step forward in the Air Force’s plans to field a swarm of unmanned jet-powered drones, as the Pentagon prepares for a future potential conflict in the Pacific fought largely with autonomous systems. “This milestone demonstrates how competition drives innovation and accelerates delivery,” Troy Meink, secretary of the Air Force, said in a statement.

Full report : Anduril conducts the first flight of its jet-powered unmanned drone, flying it “semi-autonomously”, as the US Air Force plans swarms of unmanned jet drones.