https://jalopnik.com/a-drone-killed-another-drone-in-the-sky-for-the-first-t-1829206065
Late last year, but only revealed recently, there was a first that will likely
one day be considered historic: robotic air-to-air combat was born, with a U.S.
MQ-9 Reaper drone shooting down a smaller, target drone, all without humans
drone-on-drone violence in the skies.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a23320374/reaper-drone-first-unmanned-air-to-air-kill/
While the incident occurred in a controlled environment, there were no major
technical challenges associated with the dogfighting maneuver. According to a
Military.com interview with Col. Julian Cheater, commander of the 432nd Wing,
the test went down like this:
launched an air-to-air missile against a maneuvering target that scored a direct
hit. It was an MQ-9 versus a drone with a heat-seeking air-to-air missile, and
This is the first time a drone has taken down a drone in the air, as far as we
know. Drones have been shot down by crewed aircraft before, and, technically,
since the MQ-9 is remotely piloted, it was a human that was in control of at
least one of the drones.
not there just yet.
the drones can just fight it out, conduct their own peace talks, establish their
own nations, and whatever while we humans hang out, snacking, drinking, and
playing video games or whatever.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/09/19/mq-9-gets-first-air-air-kill-training-exercise-air-force-official-says.html
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