American pilots will learn air battles with "an almost equal opponent." Yesterday, October 14, the portal aero-mag.com He reported that the US Air Force has signed a contract with Exosonic for the construction of supersonic drones.
The key feature of the new drones is that they must fly at supersonic speed with minimal shock wave. Probably, the development of drones for training is a side project of Exosonic, since its main goal is to create "quiet" ultra-sonic airliners.
Rendering of a supersonic drone
Image source: exosonic.com
"Working on supersonic UAVs is crucial to our company's strategy. We will hone the design, production and maintenance of supersonic aircraft with our first UAVs. The UAV is also important for the longevity of our company: this will provide a profit that we can channel back to our company, and instill confidence in investors, suppliers and customers that we will be able to deliver supersonic aircraft to the market before anyone needs to make a multibillion-dollar investment," said Norris Tee, CEO of Exosonic.
The US Air Force plans that supersonic drones will help in training pilots, acting as an "almost equal enemy fighter."