CCA Signals a New Era in AI-Driven Air Combat

The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program represents an enormous increase in DOD investment in AI-enabled and autonomous fighter aircraft and demonstrates the key role AI could play in the future of U.S. airpower. One of the biggest decisions the new DOD leadership will need to make is whether to go ahead with a manned Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter.

  1. Former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall estimated that one CCA would cost $25–$30 million. This is roughly 10 times cheaper than the original estimate for the unit cost of a manned sixth-generation fighter. 

  2. The Air Force has been working on AI-enabled fighter aircraft for over a decade. But the CCA program will dwarf these efforts in size, spending more in its first two years than its six precursor programs spent combined over the past 10 years.   

  3. The United States is not alone in its pursuit of autonomous fighter aircraft. In December 2024, China unveiled a prototype of its Feihong FH-9, a “loyal wingman drone” designed for “confrontational, high-intensity and long-lasting combat.” 

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