The trial came as the U.K. and U.S. are pursuing new robotic platforms for strike, ISR and other missions.

General Atomics has received a $94 million award to complete the third and final phase of DARPA's effort to develop armed, air-launched drones.

The initiative aims to develop an unmanned aerial vehicle that can employ multiple air-to-air weapons after being launched from a crewed aircraft.

The Marine Corps plans to deploy more unmanned aerial vehicles to the Asia-Pacific to keep an eye on Chinese forces.