When it lifted off the runway at Edwards Air Force Base on May 22, 2002, Boeing's X-45A unmanned combat air vehicle became the first dedicated robotic fighter to begin flight testing. The first flight lasted only 14 minutes, but subsequent testing later saw the airplane, and its twin, conduct substantially longer missions, proving their ability to fly in formation, drop warheads on simulated missile sites, and attack newly identified targets completely autonomously.


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Feature story: Is this the future of air combat? Or is it?

Click to the next page for another video of the UCAV in its first flight.