Air dominance:
How the future fight will be won
Autonomy evolution leading to a new era in aviation.
As allied nations look to safeguard air superiority and military readiness — amidst an evolving security environment —
industry must take a holistic approach. The key to victory no longer lies in a single new aircraft or weapon but in a family of crewed and autonomous systems working together.
Boeing is building on 80 years of autonomous innovation to enable the warfighter across all domains at the speed of
relevance.
To accelerate an autonomous future, draw on the past.
Boeing’s first forays into autonomy date back to World War II, when converted B-17s flew as drones on missions deemed too
dangerous for crews. Since then, Boeing has invested in and advanced state-of-the art autonomous systems and innovations
for the warfighter, including:
• Remotely piloted aircraft, beginning in the 1950s.
• Self-guided missiles, beginning in the 1970s.
• High-altitude, long-endurance uncrewed aircraft, beginning in the 1980s.
• Stealthy, uncrewed reconnaissance aircraft in the 1990s.
• Turnkey maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services (ISR) beginning with ScanEagle in the 2000s.
• First uncrewed airborne system designed specifically for network-centric combat operations with the X-45 in the 2000s.
• Persistent ISR with the high-altitude, long-endurance Phantom Eye in the 2010s.
• Rapid prototyping and further technology advances with Phantom Ray in the 2010s.
The depth of knowledge from past work shapes emerging and evolving systems. Phantom Works, the advanced research and
development unit within Boeing Defense, Space & Security, is an industry leader in this space.
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