‘Affordable Mass’ Concept Driving Air Force’s New Advanced Drone Initiative
The Air Force loyal wingman drone program won’t be ‘attritable,’ but it will be based around a new concept called ‘affordable mass.’
BY
JOSEPH TREVITHICK
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PUBLISHED MAR 10, 2023 7:22 PM
‘Affordable Mass’ Concept Driving Air Force’s New Advanced Drone Initiative
JOSEPH TREVITHICK
It is a "misconception" to say that the advanced drones that the U.S. Air Force is planning to acquire in the coming years will necessarily be "attritable," according to a senior officer who has been directly involved in the initial planning process. This reflects a broader shift away from the term attritable — meaning inexpensive enough to be willing to lose on high risk missions while being capable enough to be relevant for those missions — to a new concept the service has dubbed "affordable mass." This is something The War Zone previously highlighted was already happening back in 2021.
Maj. Gen. R. Scott Jobe, the Director of Plans, Programs, and Requirements at the Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC), made his remarks during a panel talk at the 2023 Air and Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium, which wrapped up on Wednesday. Jobe was speaking alongside Brig. Gen. Dale White, the Air Force's Program Executive Officer for Fighters and Advanced Aircraft, as well as General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.'s (GA-ASI) President of the Aircraft Systems Group David Alexander and Shield AI's Director of Product Mike Benitez.
The War Zone was among those in attendance at this event, which was focused on the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. CCA is centered on the acquisition of advanced drones with high degrees of autonomy intended to work closely together with crewed platforms, initially primarily in air-to-air combat roles. CCA is part of the larger Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative, which also includes the development of a new sixth-generation stealthy combat jet and various other advanced systems like new weapons, sensors, networking and battle management suites, advanced jet engines, and more.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/affordable-mass-concept-driving-air-forces-new-advanced-drone-initiative
