As the Air Force eyes hundreds if not thousands of unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft to supplement its manned fighter fleet, startup Anduril offered a rare glimpse at the kind of autonomy software that could undergird CCAs—one human providing relatively simple directions for multiple “robotic wingmen” ...
The Air Force will display full-scale models of the two competitors for Increment 1 of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program at next week's AFA Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
Northrop Grumman said it put a pilot on its new Model 437—ostensibly an autonomous craft—to speed testing, as it won’t need segregated airspace usually required for uninhabited aircraft. A new video of the first flight emphasizes the speed at which the aircraft was fabricated and ...
The Air Force is reconsidering how it gains air superiority—and whether it needs a manned sixth-generation fighter to achieve it, acquisition boss Andrew P. Hunter said.
The Northrop Grumman/Scaled Composites Model 437 Vanguard made its first flight Aug. 29. The rapid-prototype jet, which may be aimed at the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment II program, demonstrates the maturity of the company's "digital ecosystem," Northrop said.
The Air Force will soon award study contracts for prototype engines to power Collaborative Combat Aircraft. But the service insists it is leaving the door open to a wide range of options and thrust classes.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin is pushing for platforms that are “built to adapt” rapidly to new advacements in technology. “Why? The pace of change,” he told Air & Space Forces Magazine recently.
Anduril Industries announced it is planning futuristic factories that will build weapons the way disruptive startups like SpaceX and Tesla have built rockets and cars. The company has raised $1.5 billion for the facilities, which will focus on low-cost autonomous systems, including Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
Advances in artificial intelligence and software development will be key to two of the Air Force’s top programs: the DAF Battle Network, which connects sensors and shooters around the globe, and Collaborative Combat Aircraft autonomous drones, service acquisition executive Andrew Hunter said Aug. 7
The Air Force will "pause" the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program while it evaluates whether it meets the Air Force’s needs and budgetary requirements, Secretary Frank Kendall said July 30. The advanced fighter was originally supposed to enter service around 2030.
The two contractors picked for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 1 may not get half the work, but could get a much larger or smaller share, Air Force officials said at the Life Cycle Industry Days conference.
With the Air Force's fighter plans in flux—the Next-Generation Air Dominance program’s future in doubt and the F-22 potentially being extended—Collaborative Combat Aircraft autonomous drones will be all the more important for restoring capacity to the fleet, the head of Air Combat Command said July ...