Air Force test fires long-range missile from combat jet drone for the first time

The Air Force for the first time successfully fired an air-to-air missile from a new jet-powered combat drone built by defense company Anduril.

The recent test, the Air Force said, is an important next step in the development of what the military calls Collaborative Combat Aircraft, autonomous drones designed to fly alongside manned warplanes. “We’re one step closer to delivering capabilities to the warfighter,” Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, the Air Force chief of staff, said in a statement Wednesday announcing the test.

While the drone is designed to fly autonomously with manned combat aircraft, a human will decide whether to fire weapons, the Air Force said. 

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