THE DRIVE
Air
Everything New We Just Learned About The Collaborative Combat Aircraft Program
The Air Force’s CCA plans have opened a path to new ways of doing business and concepts of operations that could radically change the force.
BY
JOSEPH TREVITHICK
|
PUBLISHED FEB 23, 2024 2:29 PM EST
New details about the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone program, as well as recent discussions about its progress and future, all point to its potential to reshape how the service does business and fights.
Major new details about the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program emerged at the Air & Space Forces Association's recent annual Warfare Symposium. This includes a clearer picture of the effort's autonomy goals, aggressive production plans, and future operational impacts. Though questions remain about the capabilities and costs of these future uncrewed aircraft, the CCA program looks set to have a number of disruptive impacts that could fundamentally reshape the Air Force.
As it stands now, the Air Force is planning to acquire at least 1,000 Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones, and potentially more, as part of an initial tranche known currently as Increment One. Five companies – Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Anduril – are currently working on Increment One air vehicle designs. Dozens of additional firms are supporting the program through the development of autonomous technologies, sensors and other mission systems, command and control capabilities, and more. A down-select on the air vehicle side of the first increment, from the initial five contractors down to two or three, is expected later this year. The goal is to have a CCA design actually in production by 2028.
Increment One CCAs are expected, at least initially, to operate very closely with stealthy crewed combat jets, including a new sixth-generation design now under development as part of the Air Force's larger Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative, as well as certain F-35As. CCAs could be partnered with other crewed aircraft and operate more independently, in the future.
https://www.twz.com/air/collaborative-combat-aircraft-poised-to-reshape-the-air-force
