Air Force certifies group to operate, teach Skydio X10D ahead of its fielding

Automatically curated summary from Military Times.

According to an Air Force statement, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations has certified an initial team of six special agents to operate and instruct others on the Skydio X10D small autonomous drone system. Following a weeklong training course in Quantico, Virginia, the agents will use a train-the-trainer model to expand the capability across technical operation units. The drones are intended to support aerial monitoring, surveillance, outdoor crime scene documentation, and protective services. Five X10D systems are slated for deployment to technical operations agents in January 2027.

Context and limitations

Air Force officials noted that the technology has not yet been utilized in an active AFOSI case; reported capabilities rely on pilot demonstrations and training scenarios.