The US Air Force has launched the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, which builds unmanned aircraft to operate alongside fighter jets. However, the service does not rule out the possibility that the next generation of the B-21 Raider nuclear bomber could also operate with drones.
That’s what we know
The US Air Force is exploring the possibility of close cooperation between joint drones and B-21 Raider nuclear bombers. Drones can support manned aircraft or carry out their own missions.
The CCA project is part of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, under which the US Air Force wants a sixth-generation fighter. So far, the service has not announced detailed requirements for the UAVs, but it is known that the US Air Force wants at least 1,000 drones for the sixth-generation fighter and the F-35 Lightning II.
These drones will be able to attack enemy positions, distract enemy air defenses and perform reconnaissance tasks. One of the goals of the US Air Force is not only to build guided unmanned aerial vehicles, but to make them as cost-effective as possible.
The service wants to make drones significantly cheaper than manned aircraft so that losses in combat don’t put too much strain on your wallet. To put it bluntly, an F-35A without an F135 engine now costs less than $100 million, and producing a single sixth-generation fighter would cost many times that at launch.
