US Air Force targets 500 collaborative combat aircraft by 2032

The U.S. Air Force intends to have no fewer than 500 semi-autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft in service by 2032, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in a keynote address on Monday.

Speaking at the Air & Space Forces Association's Air, Space & Cyber Conference, Meink said the aircraft would carry out much of the work now done by crewed fighters. The service has set a longer-term target of roughly 1,000 combat-ready CCAs.

Two designs lead the programme. They are the FQ-42 Vengeance, built by General Atomics, and the FQ-44 Fury from Anduril Industries, both of which received their official names at the conference. The Air Force expects them to fly alongside piloted fighters and to add to those aircraft's reach, sensor coverage and combat capacity. Contracts covering air vehicles and mission-autonomy software were awarded in June as the effort moves toward operational service.

A second uncrewed programme would add 500 Massed Modular Aircraft by the same 2032 date. Those smaller vehicles are intended for reconnaissance and strike work, with the first 100 due in service by 2029, according to Meink. He put the cost of an MMA air vehicle at roughly half that of a CCA and about a tenth of a fifth-generation fighter.

Together the two programmes would give the Air Force close to 1,000 new autonomous or semi-autonomous combat aircraft by 2032, if the targets are met. Meink said the CCA fleet may end up spanning several versions, as the service studies the first aircraft and settles on further missions and capabilities.