Aviation News – Saab has successfully developed, trained, and flown its own in-house artificial intelligence agents aboard a Gripen E fighter aircraft, demonstrating a major milestone in autonomous air combat technology. The breakthrough was achieved by Saab’s Advanced Programs business unit as part of a strategic technology initiative focused on next-generation fighter development. The company created a proprietary family of AI agents designed to handle complex tactical decision-making in challenging operational environments.

Aviation News – A Windracers ULTRA autonomous aircraft owned by Purdue University completed a historic beyond visual line of sight flight across the newly created Indiana Drone Corridor. The milestone flight covered over 50 miles within the 200-plus-mile corridor on October 29, 2026, coinciding with the grand opening event at Terre Haute Indiana Airport. Indiana Governor Mike Braun, U.S. Senator Todd Young, and U.S.

Aviation News – EHang Holdings Limited has launched the EH216-EK, a specialized firefighting pilotless electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft engineered for early-stage forest fires and complex industrial emergencies. The introduction took place at the Smart Manufacturing in Wencheng event hosted at the EHang Wencheng Smart Manufacturing Center, drawing local government officials and company executives including Chief Operating Officer Zhao Wang, China General Manager Xiaona Lee, and Fire and Emergency Business Unit General Manager Daoyi Lee.

Aviation News – AutoFlight has completed the world’s first coordinated formation flight involving five electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft spanning two distinct weight classes, marking a major leap in autonomous multi-aircraft operations. The historic demonstration showcased a 47-minute coordinated flight featuring one massive 5-ton-class V5000 Matrix alongside four 2-ton-class eVTOL aircraft. Over the course of the mission, the lead V5000 covered more than 133 km, proving the exceptional endurance and coordination potential of modern autonomous aerial fleets.

Shield AI said this week that its Hivemind software helped Honeywell Aerospace achieve autonomous flight after six weeks, down from 54 weeks.

Aviation News – The Department of the Air Force recently achieved a major milestone by executing airborne tactical command and in-flight control of a YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft directly from an F-22 Raptor, significantly advancing rapid capability delivery for modern warfare. During the recent demonstration, an F-22 pilot acted as an airborne “quarterback,” issuing high-level tactical directives to the YFQ-44A. The advanced mission-autonomy software on board the unmanned aircraft successfully interpreted and executed these directives in real time, performing dynamic flight maneuvers and simulated combat tasks.

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter pilot has transmitted commands directly to a YFQ-44A Fury uncrewed aircraft during flight for the first time. The test marked an important milestone in the development of a system that would allow crewed fighters to direct autonomous drones during combat missions. The demonstration took place in early October […] Post Historic U.S. Air Force Breakthrough: F-22 Pilot Controls an Autonomous Drone From the Fighter’s Cockpit for the First Time at Root-Nation.com.

Le YFQ-48A Talon Blue a effectué un premier vol autonome, mais sa participation au prochain programme américain reste incertaine…

Aviation News – Northrop Grumman has successfully completed the first fully autonomous flight of its YFQ-48A Talon Blue, marking a significant milestone in the development of next-generation autonomous military aircraft. The aircraft independently performed every phase of the flight, from taxiing and takeoff to in-flight maneuvers and landing, demonstrating the capabilities of its advanced autonomous systems. The Talon Blue is a company-funded development initiative designed to accelerate innovation in autonomous aviation.

Un Cessna Caravan modifié par Joby a parcouru 3 199 miles à travers les États-Unis sans action sur les commandes du pilote de sécurité à bord.

The aircraft flew a distance of 3,199 miles (5,148 km) without needing control inputs from an onboard safety pilot.

Aviation News – Textron Aviation and autonomous flight developer Merlin have unveiled the Cessna SkyCourier UX, a pilotless aircraft concept designed to transport military supplies when conventional routes become too dangerous or unavailable. The aircraft combines the proven twin-engine turboprop platform with Merlin Pilot autonomous flight technology, including autonomous takeoff and landing. The SkyCourier UX was introduced on September 14, 2026, during the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.

Aviation News – Joby Aviation has launched a month-long, coast-to-coast tour featuring its autonomous J208 aircraft across 10 states to demonstrate the operational maturity of uncrewed logistics systems. The cross-country flight campaign highlights dual-use utility for civil, emergency, and defense applications under the White House-backed eVTOL and AAM Integration Pilot Program (eIPP). The company initiated the nationwide tour on September 10, 2026, flying its modified flight platform from California across the United States to the East Coast before returning.

Aviation News – Wisk Aero has officially broken ground on a new state-of-the-art vertiport at Hollister Municipal Airport in California to advance autonomous Wisk Aero Hollister vertiport flight testing and infrastructure standards. The 100-foot by 100-foot facility represents one of the first public airport vertiports in the United States specifically engineered to support both piloted and autonomous operations. Situated directly alongside Wisk’s existing flight test facilities, the site is designed to function as a dedicated operational testbed.

Wisk is now executing a flight test program focused on safely validating the Gen 6 design, simulation models, and system performance.

Military exercise marks milestone in autonomous flight as non-pilot soldier directs cargo drops, resupply, and medevac operations using Sikorsky’s MATRIX technology.

Fully AI-controlled takeoffs and landings conducted during ship-based trials in Gulf of Saros