American company General Atomics will begin flight tests of the new LongShot drone, which can carry air-to-air missiles, in December 2023. This was reported by the Internet portal. Breaking the Defense.
The material shows that the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Department of Defense signed a contract with the company in June to carry out the third phase of the development of the aircraft. According to the publication, the program could cost the ministry as much as $94 million.
At the same time, General Atomics plans to present its UAV to the public for the first time at the upcoming conference of the country’s Aerospace Forces Association. As company representative Mark Brinkley said, in the process of creating LongShot, the developers paid special attention to increasing the destruction range.
“The concept is aimed at: <...> Increasing the efficiency of modern fourth-generation fighter jets and air-to-air missiles,” the expert added.
He emphasized that it is planned to test the basic features of the drone’s control system during the first flight tests. Based on the results obtained, Brinkley concluded that the creators of the drone will form the basis of future tests.
Previously it happened It is known that ground tests of the American Gambit unmanned aerial vehicle, developed within the scope of the LongShot program, have been carried out.
Source: Gazeta
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