The U.S. Air Force announced another major leap in the effort to bring “autonomous collaborative platforms” into the fight—think drone wingmen that can fly alongside manned fighters to bring additional fuel, sensors, weapons and attack capability to an air campaign. The event took place during a test flight over the military ranges at Eglin Air Force Base...(the panhandle of Northwest Florida...at undisclosed time—but announced Tues 8 July) . In the demo, pilots in an F-16C and an F-15E each controlled two XQ-58A Valkyrie drones in real time, showing how human-machine formations can work together...previously only a single aircraft controlled drone wingmen—not ‘dissimilar’ aircraft operating their own collaborative platforms together....a group of Falcons/wingmen flying with Eagles/wingmen without incident controlled by only two pilots is an impressive advancement, but if the Air Force has its way—only the beginning. . “This test with ACPs directly addresses the evolving requirements ...