The US Air Force (USAF) is closing in on selecting its first pilotless fighter jet, and now the service has revealed how it intends to use them.
Pentagon leaders envision fielding hundreds or thousands of so-called Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) to bolster a conventional fighter fleet comprised of ageing aircraft and size-limited due to the staggering cost of developing and producing piloted fighters.
CCAs are intended to be less capable than Lockheed Martin F-35s or Boeing F-15EXs – but far cheaper and faster to assemble.
Two companies are competing for the inaugural CCA contract – uncrewed aircraft developer General Atomics Aeronautics Systems and autonomy start-up Anduril. Both firms displayed full-scale models of their CCA prototypes at this month’s annual Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) conference near Washington DC.
Though the manufacturers have said little about their designs, the USAF is betting they represent the future of tactical aviation. Service officials say flight testing of prototypes will begin within one year, followed by a procurement decision within several years.
This week, USAF officials made clear what they expect from the next-generation aircraft.
“We looked at what had the most impact on the battlefield,” Major General Jospeh Kunkel, USAF director of force design and integration, said on 18 September. “The version of the CCA that had the most impact on the battlefield was, frankly, a missile truck.”
The concept of an airborne munitions “truck” is not new. It involves using less-capable aircraft to ferry large quantities of missiles or bombs aloft, where they can be fired. Such firepower could significantly expand the USAF’s capabilities, supplementing the limited missile-carrying capacity of its fifth-generation F-35 and Lockheed F-22 fighters.
The USAF has explored using the ageing Fairchild Republic A-10 jet as a bomb truck, while General Atomics has worked on developing an experimental uncrewed missile carrier called LongShot.
Kunkel says air-to-air-oriented CCAs could help the USAF “kinetically dominate the battlefield”. Recent statements from munitions supplier Raytheon align with that vision.
Jon Norman, the company’s vice-president of defence systems requirements, confirms Raytheon has been working with Anduril and General Atomics to integrate the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile with CCA prototypes.
“They’re integrating that onto Block 1,” he said on 10 September, referencing the programme’s inaugural tranche of aircraft.
The focus on air-to-air missions for the autonomous fighter programme ends speculation that the USAF might select less-complex tasks, such as communication retransmissions or reconnaissance, for the first batch of CCAs.
Service leaders say they will announce plans for the second increment of aircraft in the coming months. Kunkel notes these or subsequent CCAs will likely see additional mission sets added to their brief, including electronic warfare, “resilient sensing” and a wider variety of weapons.
“Those, I’m certain, will be added,” he says.
Another possibility is in-flight refuelling support. Boeing is already developing an autonomous light tanker for the US Navy in the form of the carrier-based MQ-25 Stingray, with work reportedly under way on designing a larger version for the USAF.
While the initial CCA designs will be focused on air-to-air engagements, air force secretary Frank Kendall predicts their capabilities will eventually grow to include air-to-ground strikes.
”As we go forward, I expect there will be a strike aspect of CCAs as well,” Kendall said at AFA. “But initially we’re focused on air superiority.”
Evidence suggests the autonomous aircraft could change not just how the USAF fights, but also how its pilots engage.
Kunkel says that during simulated air combat engagements, USAF pilots pursued enemies more aggressively when teamed with CCAs.
“We take more risk with the tactics,” the two-star general and F-22 pilot says. “Things that we wouldn’t do with a [crewed] airplane… we’ll absolutely do with the CCA.”
Although the capabilities and cost of CCAs remains unclear, most USAF officials envision a platform that is cheap enough to be considered “attritable” – meaning not designed for long-term survival on the battlefield.
