Collaborative Combat Aircraft

The U.

S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program is developing semi-autonomous aircraft to work alongside crewed fighters. General Atomics’ Vengeance and Anduril’s Fury are among the designs being tested for supporting missions that can include scouting, sensing, electronic warfare, communications relay, and strike. Exercises such as Emerald Flag provide settings to assess aircraft integration, autonomy, command and control, weapons handling, maintenance, and logistics. The program also raises enduring operational questions about human direction, doctrine, and the rules for integrating pilotless aircraft into airspace.