US Air Force names new uncrewed fighters and sets fleet targets
The US Air Force has given names to its two collaborative combat aircraft and outlined how many it intends to field, alongside a separate low-cost strike programme.
The US Air Force has named its two new uncrewed fighter aircraft and set out how many it plans to field. Speaking on 14 September at the annual Air & Space Forces Association conference near Washington, DC, air force secretary Troy Meink said the service aims to have 500 collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) in service by 2032, a fleet that is to include the General Atomics FQ-42 and the Anduril Industries FQ-44.
Meink, the service's civilian head, said the FQ-42 has been designated Vengeance, while Anduril's FQ-44 keeps its company name, Fury. Production contracts are already in place for both designs.
He also set out plans for a separate family of lower-cost strike aircraft, described as Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA), intended as a high-volume replacement for the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and strike roles. The intention is to field 100 of the aircraft in 2029 at a lower unit cost than the CCAs and a fraction of the price of current manned types, rising to 500 platforms in the operational fleet by 2032.
Current projections put the cost of the new CCA fighters at between $20 million and $30 million each. The MMA programme remains in its early stages.
Sources
- flightglobal.comUSAF reveals fleet targets for new autonomous aircraft, names for FQ-42 and FQ-44