A US defence contractor has released remarkable footage of a jet-powered drone capable of flying more 1,100 kilometres an hour.
The UTAP-22 Mako is guided by artificial intelligence, say its designers Kratos Defence and Security Solutions.
The drone's two-hour test flight was part of a US Air Force plan called Skyborg. This aims to use swarms of unmanned jet aircraft to accompany stealth planes, flying autonomously alongside them using the Skyborg autonomy core system computer (ACS).
They can also take commands from a pilot through an encrypted datalink, flying alongside as "loyal wingmen".
The ACS is supposed to enable the drones to learn how to fly alongside manned aircraft, mimicking how human pilots fly. This could boost stealth mission reconnaissance and firepower.
The first version of the UTAP-22 was developed long before this technology was available. Like many combat drones, it was initially developed as an aircraft to be used as target practice.
A similar test was conducted in May, according to the US Air Force, in which the ACS “demonstrated basic aviation capabilities and responded to navigational commands".
The drone also demonstrated "co-ordinated manoeuvring" with the manned aircraft, the US Air Force said.
A newer version of the drone, which will incorporate stealth technology – the XQ-58 Valkyrie – is also being tested to use ACS alongside US aircraft such as the F-35 stealth fighter.
The US Air Force hopes the Valkyrie will be able to sustain operations with an altitude of 50,000 feet.
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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
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Scoreline
Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
