US puts jet-drone teams to bigger test in race with China for air supremacy

The US military has raised the difficulty level with a coordination test of its crewed fighters and “loyal wingman” drones

as it races against China towards the next frontier of air dominance.

Chinese military observers said the People’s Liberation Army was matching the United States in this technology.

The exercise was a test of real-time integration between crewed and semi-autonomous systems, according to the laboratory, which is the US Air Force’s main scientific research and development centre.