The Air Force will likely award a contract or contracts for the first increment of Collaborative Combat Aircraft in late September or early October, sources familiar with the program said. It’s not yet been decided if the Air Force will carry one or both of ...
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall caught a ride in the front seat of a modified, artificial intelligence-piloted F-16 on May 2, a high-profile show of confidence in the service’s autonomous technologies—and another key step in maturing that technology for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
While none of the major aircraft contractors were selected to develop the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, all three say they are seeking further autonomous aircraft work for the Navy, foreign partners, or in the classified arena, and maybe future versions of the CCA itself.
The Air Force is exploring the potential of autonomous cargo craft, awarding a contract to tech company Reliable Robotics to study the feasibility of automating large, multi-engine airlifters. Reliable Robotics announced the contract Feb. 8, after previously working with the Air Force under three phases of ...
With the unveiling of the B-21 Raider, speculation and interest in the new bomber have reached a fever pitch, with a first flight still to come in mid-2023. But the B-21 won’t just be about the large, flying wing aircraft that rolled out in Palmdale, ...
A new aircraft will soon be in the skies for testing above Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Air Force has transferred two XQ-58 Valkyrie drones to the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin, the 96th Test Wing announced—a key development as the service moves ...
Teams of autonomous vehicles collaborating with a crewed airplane, in which each aircraft in the formation performs a unique mission on its own, is far more effective than the so-called “loyal wingman” approach, in which a piloted aircraft pairs with just one similarly-equipped, autonomous multimission ...
As the Air Force moves forward with plans to utilize unmanned aircraft systems in new and increasingly powerful ways, the U.S. is still stuck in how much it can share those capabilities with allies and partners—creating a dangerous vacuum that China has moved to fill, ...
Air Commander John Haly of the Royal Australian Air Force Air hosts Krystle J. Carr, senior director, autonomous aviation and technology, Boeing defense, Space, and Security; Tony Bacarella, vice president of advanced programs, Elbit Systems of America; and Chris Pehrson, vice president for special programs, ...
Successfully introducing new, unmanned aircraft in the Air Force, with varying degrees of autonomy, is at risk as long as there’s widespread disagreement about what an “autonomous” aircraft actually is, according to an upcoming paper from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. The think-tank urges ...
The Air Force Association's Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., brought together top defense experts in September to discuss some of the biggest topics and challenges facing the Air Force and Space Force in a series of 10 “Mission Capability Area” panels. ...
The Air Force is preparing to unveil a 30-year fighter force design that calls for two new fighters—one for high-end fights and one for less demanding missions—a new way of providing close air support, and the retirement of the F-22 starting in about 2030, a ...