Imagine soaring skies where drones and crewed jets unite, shaping the very future of warfare. This episode is all about the revolutionary Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs), their potential as game-changers in military strategy, and their anticipated transformation of the F-35 Lightning from an emblem of costly ambition to a beacon of efficiency. We’re unpacking the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative and discussing the Air Force's remarkable plan to add 1,000 CCAs to its arsenal. Are crewed jets becoming obsolete, or will they work alongside these AI-powered machines for superior tactical advantages? Join us as we evaluate the evolving role of AI in warfare and consider the future ratio of crewed versus uncrewed fighters.
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The F-35 Lightning is the most controversial and expensive weapons program in history, a fighter which had to replace several legendary airframes. It has been asked to do everything, however, during its long development cycle. The Lightning has been plagued by cost overruns, delays and unforeseen requirements since its beginnings as the joint strike fighter in the 90s. But what if there's a twist in this high-stakes tale? What if a groundbreaking innovation could transform the F-35 from a symbol of costly ambition to a beacon of military efficiency and power? Let's take a look at some collaborative combat aircraft, or CCAs, that could turn the Lightning into a force multiplier to make the jet cost effective, and why it's the next step in the NGAD program. Today, the Air Force is looking to add at least 1,000 CCAs to its inventory. These autonomous or drone aircraft will work closely together with crewed combat jets like the F-35 Lightning, b-21 Raider and the NGAD fighter. If you recall, ngad stands for Next Generation Air Dominance and, along with building a 6th generation fighter, autonomous drones like the CCAs are also a part of the NGAD initiative. Financially, the need for drones that can team up with crewed jets makes sense. Today, the F-35A Lightning is about $80 million a copy, while the NGAD fighter and B-21 Raider are slated to cost over $100 million each, not to mention the time and cost it takes to train a pilot to fly these airframes. More on that later.
Speaker 1:
The CCA solution is an attempt to create, with the Air Force calls, an affordable mass. This does not mean that the drones are throwaway or expendable, rather that they could incur acceptable losses and still allow the USAF to complete its mission. The idea here is that CCA drones would cost about the price of an F-35 Lightning. The CCA program is looking to add at least 1,000 advanced drones which have high degrees of autonomy to fly missions in a high-end fight against an opponent like China. Broadly speaking, these drones would fly with or ahead of crewed fighters, while having useful range and payload capabilities. Diving deeper into the requirements of these CCAs, the drones can be configured as mission specialists, meaning that some drones could be loaded out as weapons platforms, sort of like a missile truck carrying and delivering munitions, to amplify the striking capability of the crewed aircraft it's accompanying. Other drones would be outfitted to carry advanced sensors or jamming equipment and forego weapons. One example could be a drone carrying a powerful air-to-ground radar to assist in precision strikes by using a data link. This could allow the crewed aircraft to keep its radar turned off and avoid detection. The problem that this then presents to an enemy is that they have to treat and prosecute every drone as if it's armed. Another configuration could be decoy drones that jam enemy radar or intentionally get detected to divert hostile aircraft away from the mission aircraft.
Speaker 1:
These specialized or modular drones should not take as much time to develop as man fighters. Since they are uncrewed, you don't need to worry about life support systems or G limits that a pilot can endure. You can build a drone that can withstand 15 Gs. Then it can fly those maneuvers as soon as it learns to do so. Speaking of training, this is one area where drones simply outmatch crewed aircraft. It takes several years to train a pilot to fly a high performance fighter and then further years to get them to become experts in the tactics used to employ their jet to their maximum performance.
Speaker 1:
Essentially, one human pilot can learn from their own mission flown and, to some extent, from the teachings of others, that a drone can learn every lesson that has been flown by every drone before it 100%. This is because drones learn by a process known as artificially trained neural networks. To do this, the best real-world pilots fly missions in simulators, where data is recorded and sent to the drones to learn. Think of the most challenging missions flown in Desert Storm or Kosovo and then have the best pilots fly it in a sim In the span of 24 hours. A drone could fly those mission scenarios several million times, where that same scenario has only ever happened once or twice. In reality.
Speaker 1:
The learning process is already underway with highly modified crewed aircraft. One aircraft that is helping drive this initiative is a highly modified F-16 known as the Vista. This jet has up to two human pilots on board, but also contains the AI systems that a drone needs to fly. The pilots take off in the Vista, fly to the mission area and then drone software takes over to fly the mission. During the mission, the pilots are there to monitor the flight and take over in case parameters are exceeded. Today, the Vista is flying in exercises alongside 5th generation F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightnings to further improve its algorithms.
Speaker 1:
When you consider all these factors, it is clear to see that CCA drones provide a distinct advantage. Given that the F-35 is essentially a flying combat information node, adding these drones to the lightnings arsenal will cause it to be a force multiplier at a much lower cost and risk to pilots than a force of just F-35s. What's interesting is the initial 1000 drone figure requested by the Air Force. This sends a clear message to industry that AI, along with drones, are here to stay and could mark a turning point in the USAF's crude versus uncrewed fighter ratio. Indeed, it looks like the 1000 units figure is just a starting point, with sophisticated and cost effective drones being less than 5 years away from deployment.
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If you want even more free content, then check out my weekly newsletter, hangar Flying with Tog. Each week, I'll give you a sneak peek into what I'm working on and we'll take a look back at the week in aviation history and you'll get a high resolution photo I've taken of a military aircraft all for free. And finally, if you want to go above and beyond the call, then you can join my growing number of channel members and patrons. These are my VIPs and they get early access to videos, priority replies to comments, behind the scenes images and help me determine what video I make next. The collaborative combat aircraft will, without a doubt, be a force multiplier for the F-35 Lightning. This new era in fighter aviation will help protect us against an adversary that does not share our values. Now you know.