US Navy seeks carrier-based combat drones with 10,000-pound payload

The US Navy wants autonomous combat aircraft that can fly from aircraft carriers with up to 10,000 pounds of weapons mounted externally.

Naval Air Systems Command issued a request for information on August 31, 2026 covering two fully functional prototypes for the first increment of the Navy's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. The uncrewed aircraft must work with Gerald R. Ford-class and Nimitz-class carriers, including catapult launch and arrested landing systems. Under a potential agreement, prototypes would need to meet shore-based carrier certification requirements within three years.

The Navy described the aircraft as affordable, weaponized, extended-range platforms that would operate autonomously alongside crewed aircraft. They would extend the reach and weapons capacity of carrier air wings while taking on missions deemed too risky for crewed fighters.

Each aircraft would carry four externally mounted weapons, each store weighing as much as 2,500 pounds, for a possible total external load of 10,000 pounds. The Navy is also looking at whether weapons could be carried internally to reduce radar visibility.

Contractors must provide the aircraft's maximum combat radius while carrying weapons, remaining on station for 30 minutes, and keeping enough reserve fuel to return safely to the carrier.