Craig Milliard, Xwing flight test manager, monitors an autonomous flight from the Xwing ground control station at McClellan Airfield in Sacramento, California, Jan. 27, 2024. AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force, has awarded Xwing two Small Business Innovation Research contracts, a Phase Two in March 2023 to conduct autonomous flight trials and optimize the technology for future missions and a Phase Three in December 2023 to demonstrate the capability in an operationally relevant environment. Xwing's autonomous flight technology allows its aircraft to taxi, takeoff, fly to a destination, avoid airborne and ground threats, and land, without any human input. (U.S. Air Force photo by Matthew Clouse)