Collaborative combat aircraft

CCAs are intended to operate in collaborative teams with the next generation of manned combat aircraft, including sixth-generation fighters and bombers such as the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider.

[1] Unlike the conventional UCAVs, the CCA incorporates artificial intelligence (AI),[a] denoted an "autonomy package", increasing its survivability on the battlefield.

It's possible two distinct solutions could emerge from this stage, one high end and "exquisite" and the other more basic and inexpensive oriented around a single mission.

[14][15] Service officials started out developing the increment 2 CCA as a high-end, stealthy platform, but wargames showing that large numbers of low-end aircraft would be more effective than small numbers of high-end versions in a simulated Pacific conflict influenced them to rethink their approach.

[20][21][11][22] The CCA is being developed in collaborative fashion[23] by multiple commands of the USAF: MG Heather L. Pringle of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL); MG R. Scott Jobe of Air Combat Command (ACC); LTG Dale R. White, program executive officer (PEO) for fighters and advanced aircraft; and BG Joseph Kunkel, DCS, Plans and Programs.

[24][c] Defense policy expert Heather Penney has identified five key elements for the collaborative development of crewed-uncrewed teaming of autonomous loyal wingmen, remote pilots of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and pilots flying separately in manned aircraft (also called manned-unmanned teaming).

[56] On March 6, 2023, DARPA chose General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) to carry out the design of the air-launched Longshot drone through Critical Design Review (CDR); a LongShot would itself carry an AMRAAM or Sidewinder missile, which greatly extends the range of these missiles.

[53][59][60] Six F-16s from Eglin AFB will be fitted with autonomy agents, to establish the foundation of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program.

[61][62][45] The CCA lines of effort as of March 2023[update] were:[62][63] On 24 January 2024, the US Air Force awarded contracts to five contractor teams led by Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman for the development of collaborative combat aircraft.

[64] On 24 April 2024, the US Air Force announced that they had eliminated Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman from the Increment I competition and that the Anduril Fury and General Atomics Gambit would be moving forward with development.

[73] The 26th Secretary of the US Air Force listed CCAs among his top seven priorities for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget request to its Chief of staff:[9] Collaborative combat aircraft are entering the FY2024 presidential budget request;[62] Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) projects are estimated to be $500 million for perhaps "100 roles" in USAF missions in FY2024.