The U.S. Air Force is developing a new type of semi-autonomous, unmanned aircraft called the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). The CCA is being developed under the so-called “loyal wingman” concept, an unmanned aircraft that could fly alongside existing manned fighters. The Collaborative Combat Aircraft program is a key U.S. Air Force initiative, part of the broader Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) strategy, which aims to maintain the USAF’s air superiority in increasingly demanding operational environments. How have operational conditions changed over the past three decades? What has forced policymakers to change their approach?
Aircraft are expensive to develop, acquire, and operate. Since the 1990s, the U.S. Air Force’s fleet has shrunk in part because of these costs. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall has estimated the cost of a CCA to be about one-third that of a manned fighter. Air Force officials also point out that CCA training would take place virtually, meaning that the aircraft themselves would fly less often – translating into lower operating costs.
In addition, the development of anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) solutions, such as long-range missiles and advanced air defense systems, pose a challenge to the US Air Force’s ability to gain air superiority. Traditionally, American air dominance has been based on technologically advanced manned fighters and a high level of pilot training. However, in the face of the growing threat from advanced air defense systems and modern air forces of potential adversaries, the US must adopt a new operational strategy that will enable increased effectiveness of military operations at reduced costs. In this context, CCA, or autonomous unmanned combat aircraft cooperating with manned units, are to play a key role in the future. Thus, the use of CCA has two basic advantages in this respect: the ability to use multiple aircraft instead of a single manned aircraft while maintaining the same cost of conducting the operation, without endangering the lives of the pilots of manned aircraft.
The concept currently in development calls for two CCAs for each advanced manned combat aircraft. Secretary Kendall has said the military plans to build at least 1,000 and possibly 2,000 CCAs by the mid-2030s, at a cost of about $30 million each. The concept calls for CCAs to provide the Air Force with “affordable mass” to meet the growing and highly sophisticated threat from China, given that the Air Force cannot build enough aircraft or train enough pilots to overwhelm a peer adversary with manned platforms alone.
The primary purpose of loyal wingmen is to support human-piloted aircraft in combat. They can act as “flying depots” for weapons, providing a low-cost way to enhance the capabilities of stealth aircraft that have limited internal ammunition storage. But their applications don’t end there. CCA machines will act as a force multiplier, significantly enhancing the operational capabilities of manned machines, based on their additional armament and sensors. When confronted by unmanned machines, the enemy will have to disperse its defensive capabilities, because distinguishing manned machines from their unmanned wingmen can be very difficult. This is reflected in the change in the doctrine of the use of air forces. The Polish “loyal wingman” program is called “Harpi szpon”. As indicated by Janes, a British service dealing with the analysis of military data, Wp.pl – “During the IQPC International Fighter Conference, Maj. Gen. Cezary Wiśniewski announced that the Ministry of National Defense is actively looking for a loyal wing platform to complement the fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters”.
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Tekst powstał w ramach realizacji zadania publicznego zleconego w ramach Rządowego Programu Rozwoju Organizacji Obywatelskich na lata 2018–2030 r. „Bezpieczna Polska jutra – rozwój działań misyjnych Alioth Foundation”.
