What the Air Force's Latest Drone Project Means for Defense Stocks

For more than a decade, the U.S. military has been looking forward to the day when fighter pilots would no longer fly fighter jets -- because the jets would fly themselves. With the inauguration of the Air Force's new drone project, dubbed "Skyborg Vanguard," that day looks closer than ever. A project comprising both hardware and software elements, Skyborg Vanguard was first announced late last month when the Department of Defense's daily digest of contract awards described a $400 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to be split among four of its biggest defense contractors.