USAF Sees '100 Roles' for Its Robot Wingmen—and Firms Are Lining Up to Make Them
Air Force procurement chief offers the most detailed description yet of the collaborative combat aircraft program.
AUDREY DECKER | MAY 18, 2023 12:57 PM ET
AIR FORCE DRONES INDUSTRY
The U.S. Air Force envisions a hundred different roles for its new drones that will accompany fighter pilots into combat—with dozens of companies already lining up to build the wingmen drones.
There is a “heavy focus” on non-traditional companies in the competition for the Air Force’s “collaborative combat aircraft” program, said Andrew Hunter, the service’s acquisition chief. Some defense primes will be competing as well, he added, to build drones that the service plans to fly alongside its manned fighters.
“We are going to have a handful of competitors for the very initial work on collaborative combat aircraft and as we continue to iterate in the program, the number of competitors will grow quite a bit,” he said.
https://www.defenseone.com/defense-systems/2023/05/usaf-envisions-100-roles-its-robot-wingmenand-companies-are-lining-make-them/386525/
