Loyal Wingmen: Air Force Fleshing Out Key Component Of NGAD Program.

• Author: Carberry, Sean

AURORA, Colorado -- The Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, platform intended to replace current fifth-generation fighter jets has long been shrouded in secrecy, but the service has been providing more details about one component of the program--the jet fighter drones that will team with the piloted sixth-generation aircraft.

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall revealed in March that the initial plan is to acquire 1,000 of the collaborative combat aircraft, or CCA. The service arrived at the number by assuming that two of the uncrewed jets will accompany each of an initial tranche of 200 NGAD fighters and 300 F-35 fighters, he said at the Air & Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium.

"This isn't an inventory objective, but a planning assumption to use for analysis of things such as basing, organizational structures, training and range requirements and sustainment concepts," he said.

"The CCAs will complement and enhance the performance of our crewed fighter force structure," he continued. "They will not impact planned crewed fighter inventory. One way to think of CCAs is as remotely controlled versions of the targeting pods, electronic warfare pods, or weapons now carried under the wings of our crewed aircraft."

Service officials involved in developing the NGAD and their so-called "loyal wingmen" elaborated on the program at the symposium, describing the drones as "affordable mass."

"If we can get a price point that gets what Secretary Kendall talked about--maybe up to 1,000 air vehicles out there at a price point that gives us enough capability to provide effect on the battlespace--it's really a game-changing kind of concept," said Maj. Gen. Scott Jobe, director of plans, programs and requirements at Air Combat Command.

"It doesn't mean though that this is an attritable type of platform, and that's been a common misconception," he continued. "We're going to reuse these air vehicles, and the decision for risk and the risk that we will take with these types of capabilities will be at the mission command or at the combined forces air component commander level."

The Air Force, Navy and other components of the Defense Department have performed analyses on the affordable mass concept that "show overwhelmingly that this provides us an overmatch capability and changes our loss exchange ratios dramatically in our favor," he said.

"The unique thing that CCAs bring to the fight is the ability to do fire and maneuver in a...