WASHINGTON — Perhaps no single US Air Force program has gotten as much attention over the last year as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) effort.
As envisioned by service leaders, CCA will lead to loyal wingman drones flying alongside fighters, a force multiplier that will be the airpower backbone of America’s future military. It’s no surprise that such a program is complex — and comes with a lot of questions about how these systems will be used, whether the technology will be ready, and who will make them.
To get to the heart of what CCAs are and how they will work, Breaking Defense assembled a panel — featuring reporters Michael Marrow and Valerie Insinna, alongside Stacie Pettyjohn of the Center for a New American Security think tank — to break down what every reader needs to know.
Above, you’ll find the first of four videos from that discussion. We’re calling this one “Everything you need to know about CCA but were afraid to ask,” and it captures exactly that: the basics of what a CCA is and which industry members are set to produce them. In the coming weeks, we’ll publish further videos, focused on the operational use of these systems, international efforts to replicate a loyal wingman program from both partners and potential adversaries, and the technology that will make CCA fly.
