In the United States passed the test of an unmanned fighter "Valkyrie"

In late February, Boeing revealed details aboutLoyal Wingman unmanned fighter aircraft, which is designed to accompany manned aircraft. It will be ready for its first flight only in 2020, while the similar drone Valkyrie XQ58-A from the USAF and Kratos has already passed its first test. It is also designed to fly next to manned fighter jets, but it was tested alone.

"Valkyrie" is positioned as relativelya cheap platform that is capable of disrupting the work of enemy equipment with electronic impact, attacking opponents, reconnoitering the territory and taking a bang in especially dangerous moments in order to protect expensive manned vehicles. A drone can fly either alone or in a group where one of the pilots can control it using the remote control. For takeoff, both the runway and the launch vehicle can be used, and the payload can consist of several bombs.

The first flight was performed on the testHume landfill in Arizona. Representatives of the Air Force claim that throughout the 76-minute flight, he "behaved as expected." Ahead of the drone are four more test flights, during which it will become clear how well its control systems work and whether it has any problems during takeoff, flight and landing.

Unlike the similar device F-16 FightingFalcon with a speed of more than 2000 km / h, "Valkyrie" develops a speed of no more than 1000 km / h. Since the drone can take a hit to save manned vehicles worth more than $ 100 million, the developers have reduced its price as much as possible - it does not exceed $ 2-3 million.

It is noteworthy that similar devices kamikazeit is planned to create not only in the field of air technology, but also in the ground and underwater. For example, unmanned submarines will be able to collect intelligence and disarm mines.

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