On a recent sunny day in the Florida Panhandle, an explosion launched a miniature aircraft into the skies over the Gulf of Mexico to maneuver without remote piloting, a successful test of the Air Force’s Skyborg system that could enable war jets to fly without remote piloting one day.

Today, even pilotless aircraft such as the MQ-9 Reaper are controlled remotely, thousands of miles away by an Air Force pilot sitting in a dark room, surrounded by screens and controls. The pilot is checking sensors such as altitude, wind speed, and fuel. He can change the aircraft direction and conduct reconnaissance and surveillance, even drone strikes against terrorists in far-flung locations. The future Air Force requires unmanned aircraft with full-mission autonomy. The Skyborg Vanguard program aims to deliver that need at a low cost and help to develop a system that will execute complex missions at machine speed.