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Pilotless jet fighters that can fly 30 feet above the ground to their targets or straight toward a barrage of enemy missiles are being developed by the U.S. Air Force to help deter China.
The soaring cost of existing military aircraft and advances in flying software have the Air Force pivoting toward a new generation of pilotless jets to bolster a fleet that its leaders say is the smallest and oldest since it became a separate service in 1947.
The Air Force wants at least 1,000 of the mini-fighters now being developed, including hundreds within five years. They would escort and protect crewed aircraft such as the F-35 and the new B-21 bomber, carry their own weapons to attack other planes and targets on the ground and act as scouts and communications hubs in the sky.
The drones, known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCAs, are part of a $6 billion program being pursued by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics and newcomer Anduril Industries. The Pentagon plans by the summer to choose two of the companies to start building the jets.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/nation...v6bnebft3je&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
The soaring cost of existing military aircraft and advances in flying software have the Air Force pivoting toward a new generation of pilotless jets to bolster a fleet that its leaders say is the smallest and oldest since it became a separate service in 1947.
The Air Force wants at least 1,000 of the mini-fighters now being developed, including hundreds within five years. They would escort and protect crewed aircraft such as the F-35 and the new B-21 bomber, carry their own weapons to attack other planes and targets on the ground and act as scouts and communications hubs in the sky.
The drones, known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCAs, are part of a $6 billion program being pursued by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics and newcomer Anduril Industries. The Pentagon plans by the summer to choose two of the companies to start building the jets.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/nation...v6bnebft3je&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
