Every fighter jet a drone cloud.

Boeing has introduced its newest unmanned fighter drone, the Boeing Loyal Wingman, a near fighter-jet sized AI weapon which will operate in a four-squadron drone cloud around each human pilot-manned fighter craft … what they call “smart teaming with existing military aircraft.”

The Loyal Wingman measures 38 feet long and can fly 2,000 nautical miles at a time. The AI drone was unveiled at the Australian International Airshow by Australian Minister for Defence, Christopher Pyne MP.

“The Boeing Airpower Teaming System will provide a disruptive advantage for allied forces’ manned/unmanned missions,” noted Kristin Robertson at Boeing Autonomous Systems. “With its ability to reconfigure quickly and perform different types of missions in tandem with other aircraft, our newest addition to Boeing’s portfolio will truly be a force multiplier as it protects and projects air power.”

They can each be equipped with a range of cannons, bombs, smart missiles, ECM packages and sub-munitions, as well as smaller swarming drones.

A range of combat test flights are planned for 2020.