airframe

They will likely combat drones by burning through their airframes.

Yet it is always possible that the airframe will be beset by problems, that the code required to fly the plane will take years to get right, and that new complications can emerge in the process.

Unity’s rocket is limited in size – and therefore in power – by being enclosed in a sleek airframe.

“Instead of building an interesting airframe and then trying to figure out how to put the battery into that aircraft, we started with the battery first and put things on top of it,” Kelekona said.