> If the enemey's autonomous aircraft can't discriminate between friend and foe effectively, then when you launch a swarm of them, they'll all fratricide each other. It's a fundamental requirement that they be able to differentiate between friend and foe.

I would guess that identifying your own teammates is much easier than distinguishing strangers who are combatant from non-combatant, and among combatants distinguishing allies from enemies.

Also, suicidal autonomous aircraft are common, in the form of missiles. If these more intelligent missiles kill the enemy, it doesn't matter if they kill each other too (beyond the financial loss). Maybe you give each a 'kill area', in which they are instructed to kill everything, and spread them out enough that they don't overlap too much.