Don’t expect ‘straight-line’ capability advancements for CCA drones, Air Force acquisition chief says

Published on December 22, 2023

The U.S. Air Force is advancing its next-generation drone program, known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), with the aim to field the first tranche by fiscal 2028, backed by a budget exceeding $6 billion over five years. Andrew Hunter, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, highlighted that the development of CCAs will not necessarily follow a linear trajectory of increasing sophistication but will focus on varying operational challenges. The program, which is not starting from scratch technologically, builds upon the foundational work of the Air Force Research Lab's Skyborg project. This prior work has facilitated valuable industry and operational community engagement, shaping the CCA program's direction.

The CCA drones, primarily tasked with air-to-air operations initially, could be produced by multiple vendors, including Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Anduril, depending on funding. The Air Force plans to potentially acquire over 1,000 drones at a fraction of the cost of an F-35 stealth fighter, enhancing capacity affordably. The program also emphasizes continuous competition, not just in drone manufacturing but also in software development, essential for autonomous operation and other functionalities of the CCAs. Despite the focus on rapid development, the Air Force ensures that necessary engineering and technical processes won't be overlooked to achieve meaningful military operational capability. An engineering and manufacturing development effort will be required for this significant advancement in drone technology.

Read more: https://defensescoop.com/2023/12/21/capability-advancements-cca-drones-air-force-acquisition-hunter/

Other news

Pentagon cloud tie-up with Silicon Valley off to a slow start

December 22, 2023
The Pentagon's transition to cloud computing, a standard in American business, faces challenges due to concerns over its security for sensitive military use. After the failure of the earlier JEDI cloud initiative, which was mired in legal challenges by Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle, the Pentagon launched the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) in December 2022 with a $9 billion contract divi

Transforming Aerospace and Defense: The AI Revolution

December 23, 2023
Part I: Enterprise Systems Managing Military OperationsThe aerospace and defense sectors are experiencing a transformative shift, largely driven by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies into sensors, weapons, and information systems designed for the military. In an environment where precision, rapid decision-making, and robustness are crucial, AI/ML has em