The U.S. Air Force’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) has made several recommendations to ensure that the flying branch’s MQ-9 and RQ-4 can better survive in contested airspace.
By U.S. Air Force photo by Bobbi Zapka [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Werner Dahm, SAB chair and air force chief scientist from 2008 to 2010, said the panel suggested arming the drones with in-production air-to-air weapons and miniature air-to-ground weapons to make them more lethal.