Collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) is a US program for unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) that is considered broadly equivalent to a loyal wingman. 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), denoted an "autonomy package", increasing its survivability on the battlefield. It is still expected to cost much less than a manned aircraft with similar capabilities. [2] The US Air Force plans to spend more than $6 billion on its CCA programs from 2023 to 2028. [3] [4] The success of the CCA program may lessen the need for additional manned squadrons. [5] [6]
A CCA is a military drone with an onboard AI control system and capability to carry and deliver a significant military weapons load. Its AI system is envisaged as being significantly lighter and lower-cost than a human pilot with their associated life support systems, but offering comparable capability in flying the aircraft and in mission execution.
The principal application is to elevate the role of human pilots to mission commanders, leaving AIs to operate under their tactical control as high-skill operators of relatively low-cost robotic craft. [7]
CCAs can perform other missions as well, [8] as "a sensor, [lower-alpha 1] as a shooter, as a weapons carrier, as a cost reducer". [9] [10]
Although a CCA will be a fraction of the cost of a manned fighter, they would not be considered expendable or even vulnerable to attrition. [11] A CCA would have sufficient intelligence and onboard defense systems to survive on the battlefield. US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has described them as playing perhaps "100 roles": [12] remotely controlled versions of targeting pods, electronic warfare pods or weapons carriers to provide additional sensors and munitions; to balance affordability and capability. [13] [11]
The price point of a CCA will determine how many types of missions a single airframe can perform, with more expensive designs able to be multirole aircraft, while cheaper designs could be modular to perform different tasks on different days which can afford to be lost in combat. [1] [10] Two increments are planned: increment 1 CCAs will have sensor and targeting systems to focus on carrying additional munitions for manned aircraft; increment 2 CCAs will have greater stealth and autonomy to perform missions including EW, SEAD, and potentially act as decoys. 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. [16]
The USAF is seeking CCAs with greater thrust than the current MQ-28 and the XQ-58. [17] [18]
The concept of the CCA arose in the early 2000s. CCA programs include the USAF Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. [19] The US Navy and USAF plan to be able to control the CCAs and NGADs of either service. [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] All four generals agreed on the need to put CCAs into the Joint Simulation Environment. [24] [lower-alpha 2]
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). [39] [40] [41]
The Autonomous Core System, Skyborg's autonomy package, was shown to be portable across multiple airframes; [42] [43] this has led Skyborg to become a Program of Record with a Program Executive Officer (PEO) for acquisition. [42] [44] Skyborg will continue to serve as a science and technology platform. [42]
Most UAVs are remotely piloted, but an AI program piloting a collaborative combat aircraft would need a mission commander for crewed-uncrewed teaming. —Heather Penney. [40] [41] In 2020, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) AlphaDogfight test program established that AI programs that fly fighter aircraft will overmatch human pilots, to the extent that the AI agents even flew with fine motor control. [45] [46] An autonomy package on the VISTA testbed has demonstrated dogfighting capability. [47] US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall flew in the X-62A VISTA, which was under AI control. [48] The NGAD [49] [50] is anticipated to use loyal wingmen (CCAs). [51] [52] [9] Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall envisions these uncrewed aircraft as performing parts of a larger mission; [19] CCA development can be conducted in parallel with NGAD development, which has to take into account a larger set of requirements. [9] Up to five autonomous CCAs would operate with an NGAD. [19]
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) will test their Skyborg manned-unmanned programs such as Autonomous Air Combat Operations (AACO), [53] and DARPA will test its Air Combat Evolution (ACE) [8] artificial intelligence program. [54] The System for Autonomous Control of Simulation (SACS) software for human interface is being developed by Calspan. [54]
DARPA's Longshot is an air-launched UAV meant to extend the range of a mission [55] and reduce the risk to manned aircraft, which could then remain at standoff range; if Longshot were to use Air Combat Evolution (ACE), [8] missiles launched from that Longshot could more effectively select targets. [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. [57] In this way, a Boeing F-15EX Eagle II or similar 4th-generation fighter can greatly increase their survivability, when armed with a LongShot. [57] GA-ASI is developing a core package (Gambit) for the CCA market. [58]
On 9 December 2022 the Air Force Test Pilot School tested its General Dynamics X-62 VISTA, a modified F-16 Fighting Falcon which can fly autonomously, with 2 different AI packages. [53] By 16 December 2022 the VISTA had flown eight sorties using ACE, and six sorties using AACO, at a rate of two sorties per day. [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. The Air Force expects to make a final decision between the two companies' offerings by 2026. [14] [65] As the CCA program is expected to result in multiple types of aircraft with varying capabilities and costs, all companies are expected to bid again for follow-on Increments. [66]
A CCA is estimated to cost between one-half and one-quarter as much as $80 million Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II; [5] the desired cost is between $25-30 million per airframe. [16] US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is aiming for an initial fleet of 1,000 CCAs. [67] As elements of a crewed-uncrewed team, two CCAs could be teamed with an NGAD or F-35, say two for each of the 200 NGAD platforms, [68] and two for each of the 300 F-35s, in order to work out concepts to integrate them into the service, [63] but the full inventory could be twice that size. [69] [70]
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. [12] The US Air Force plans to spend more than $6 billion on its CCA programs over the next five years (2023 to 2028). [3]
Several CCAs are or have been under development.
Examples include:
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
The history of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) is closely tied to the general history of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). While the technology dates back at least as far as the 1940s, common usage in live operations came in the 2000s. UCAVs have now become an important part of modern warfare, including in the Syrian civil war, the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the United States Air Force (USAF). The MQ-9 and other UAVs are referred to as Remotely Piloted Vehicles/Aircraft (RPV/RPA) by the USAF to indicate ground control by humans.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is a military contractor and subsidiary of General Atomics that designs and manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles and radar systems for the U.S. military and commercial applications worldwide.
A program executive officer, or PEO, is one of a few key individuals in the United States military acquisition process. As can be seen from the examples below, a program executive officer may be responsible for a specific program, or for an entire portfolio of similar programs.
The General Dynamics X-62 VISTA is an experimental aircraft, derived from the F-16D Fighting Falcon, which was modified as a joint venture between General Dynamics and Calspan for use by the United States Air Force (USAF). Originally designated NF-16D, the aircraft was redesignated X-62A in June 2021 as part of an upgrade to a Skyborg, with System for Autonomous Control of Simulation (SACS).
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F/A-XX is a development and acquisition program for a future sixth-generation air superiority fighter to replace the United States Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and complement the F-35C beginning in the 2030s. A requirement was first identified in June 2008.
The AVIC Dark Sword is a stealthy supersonic unmanned combat aerial vehicle from the People's Republic of China. It is being developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China's Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute for the air superiority or deep strike roles. Use as an autonomous wingman for manned aircraft may also be a goal.
As of January 2014, the United States military operates a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles : 7,362 RQ-11 Ravens; 990 AeroVironment Wasp IIIs; 1,137 AeroVironment RQ-20 Pumas; 306 RQ-16 T-Hawk small UAS systems; 246 MQ-1 Predators; MQ-1C Gray Eagles; 126 MQ-9 Reapers; 491 RQ-7 Shadows; and 33 RQ-4 Global Hawk large systems.
The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is an American strategic bomber under development for the United States Air Force (USAF) by Northrop Grumman. As part of the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program, it is to be a long-range, stealth intercontinental strategic bomber for the USAF, able to deliver conventional and thermonuclear weapons. The Air Force intends the B-21 to replace the Rockwell B-1 Lancer and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit by 2040, and possibly the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress after that.
The Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie is an experimental stealthy unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed and built by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions for the United States Air Force's Low Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator (LCASD) program, under the USAF Research Laboratory's Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) project portfolio. It was initially designated the XQ-222. The Valkyrie completed its first flight on 5 March 2019 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.
The Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat, previously known as the Boeing Airpower Teaming System (ATS), is a Loyal Wingman class stealth, multirole, unmanned combat aerial vehicle in development by Boeing Australia for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is designed as a force multiplier aircraft capable of flying alongside crewed aircraft for support as part of an integrated system including space-based capabilities, and performing autonomous missions independently using artificial intelligence.
The AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) under development by Lockheed Martin. Designed to address advanced threats, the missile is expected to replace or supplement the AIM-120 AMRAAM currently in US service. The United States Department of Defense (DoD) considers the AIM-260A JATM program to be the number one air-delivered weapon priority for both the Air Force and the Navy; and its acquisition out-prioritizes other weapon system improvements and modernization efforts on any fielded aircraft.
The Skyborg project is a United States Air Force Vanguard program developing unmanned combat aerial vehicles intended to accompany a manned fighter aircraft. As of 2020, contracts have been awarded to Boeing, General Atomics, Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems and Northrop Grumman.
The HAL Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is an Indian unmanned and manned combat aircraft air teaming system being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The system will consist of a manned fighter aircraft acting as "mothership" of the system and a set of swarming UAVs and UCAVs governed by the mothership aircraft. A twin-seated HAL Tejas is likely to be the mothership aircraft. Various other sub components of the system are currently under development and will be jointly produced by HAL, National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Newspace Research & Technologies.
The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) is a United States Air Force (USAF) sixth-generation air superiority initiative with a goal of fielding a "family of systems" that is to succeed the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. A crewed fighter aircraft is the centerpiece program of NGAD and has been referred to as the Penetrating Counter-Air (PCA) platform and is to be supported by uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), or loyal wingman platforms, through manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T).
A loyal wingman is a proposed type of unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) which incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and is capable of collaborating with the next generation of manned combat aircraft, including sixth-generation fighters and bombers such as the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider. Also unlike the conventional UCAV, the loyal wingman is expected to be capable of surviving on the battlefield but to be significantly lower-cost than a manned aircraft with similar capabilities. In the US, the concept is known as the collaborative combat aircraft (CCA).
The General Atomics XQ-67A is a developmental unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UAV) built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) for the United States Air Force Off-Board Sensing Station program and as a prototype for the collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) program.