US Air Force Releases Video of New Combat Drone: XQ-58A Valkyrie

The U.S. Air Force has released the first videos of its latest combat drone, the XQ-58A Valkyrie. The new aircraft, which went from concept to first test flight in 2.5 years, “behaved as expected” on its first test flight this week, according to the Air Force.

The 76-minute inaugural flight occurred on March 5, 2019 at Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona. The Air Force released a short 15-second video of the first flight to show it off, something that the military doesn’t do with all of its aircraft.

“XQ-58A is the first example of a class of UAV that is defined by low procurement and operating costs while providing game changing combat capability,” Doug Szczublewski, AFRL’s XQ-58A Program Manager, said in a statement.