Anew phase in manned-unmanned teaming in air combat will begin next year with contract awards by the U.S. Air Force to four companies to create a vendor for the Skyborg program. For two decades, the Air Force has operated large unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) under the direct control of humans on the ground who either "fly" the aircraft in real time or approve any deviation from a preplanned mission. As autonomous technology advances, the Air Force is seeking to transition to a new operational paradigm, with onboard software algorithms ultimately trusted to sense their environments and make their own decisions about how to respond to unexpected changes or threats.
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