By Cheyenne Macdonald For Dailymail.com
Published: 19:56 GMT, 8 March 2019 | Updated: 20:08 GMT, 8 March 2019
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The US Air Force has taken the wraps off its new stealth fighter drone.
It was developed in just over 2.5 years, from contract award to first flight – a milestone that took place March 5 at the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona.
The Air Force released footage from the unmanned XQ-58A Valkyrie’s inaugural flight this week, and says the demonstrator craft behaved ‘as expected.’
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The XQ-58 Valkyrie is a long-range, high subsonic unmanned air vehicle (UAV) developed by the Air Force Research Lab in partnership with Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems. During its inaugural flight, it was in the air for 76 minutes
The ‘loyal wingman’ concept describes aircraft designed to provide unmanned aerial support to other, piloted planes such as the F-35A.
They can carry payload including weapons or surveillance tools, and are used for lower cost strike, surveillance, and electronic support in the skies.
The Air Force ultimately hopes
