The autonomous fighter jets being developed under the UK’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme are expected to play a key role in Integrated Air and Missile Defence through the 2030s, the Ministry of Defence has said, beginning in the air-to-air role, with the Royal Navy working alongside the RAF to shape the programme’s approach.
The detail came in a pair of written answers from Defence Minister Luke Pollard to Conservative MP Stuart Anderson, who asked when the aircraft will contribute to air and missile defence and what the programme’s next steps are.
“Through the 2030s Collaborative Combat Aircraft are expected to also play a key role in Integrated Air and Missile Defence as they augment combat air platforms, initially in the Air-to-Air role to help facilitate control of the air,” Pollard said, as quoted in the answer, adding that “potential further capability uses continue to be explored to ensure the MOD can capitalise any emerging technologies such as autonomy.”
On next steps, the Minister confirmed a jointly shaped effort. “The Royal Navy and RAF are working with the National Armaments Director Group to develop the best approach to Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Defence is working with industry partners to explore proposals and consider the technologies and subsystems that would offer the best overall capability including autonomy, propulsion and payloads,” he said, as quoted in the answer.
The answers add shape to a programme that only gained a public name this week, with Pollard revealing at the Global Air and Space Chiefs’ Conference, as previously reported by the UK Defence Journal, that the Collaborative Combat Aircraft effort will be known as Storm Fighter, developing autonomous jets in the UK to fly as what he described as guardian angel and attack dog alongside Typhoon, F-35 and the future Tempest.
The Royal Navy’s confirmed involvement in developing the approach is a detail with implications, hinting at a maritime dimension to Storm Fighter that would align with the service’s experimentation with fixed-wing drones from its carriers, including Project Vanquish, the jet-powered drone being trialled to serve alongside the F-35B force, and the Hybrid Carrier Air Wing under which the future carrier air group will mix crewed and uncrewed aircraft.
Whether the programme produces a carrier-compatible variant is not stated, but a jointly developed requirement makes the question live.
Will these drones have a self defence suite or will they be sitting ducks for enemy missiles?
Will they have radar and carry missiles or simply launch missiles at the behest of…someone else?
Will one of many autonomous unmanned ships be able to cue these swarms (or at least one or two) of drones?
Will…
AA
Clearly no one in the MOD has thought of any of these things. Looks like “we fear change” is the order of the day again.
Agree, so many muppets that think they have a clue acting like they have come up with some unique insight and everyone in the MoD is an idiot only interested in cutting budgets.
I still think one of the best ways to deploy these is over the UK with an E7 controlling them. Then it becomes essentially a flying air defence systems with the ability to rapidly relocate and look down on low flying threats and cruises missiles.
In a video game maybe.
I wonder what Storm Fighter’s loitering envelope will be? And will it be able to refuel in flight?
Given the cost of Typhoon radar, I presume the CCA will operate as loyal wingman, with targeting and missile launch controlled by the Typhoon. So a typical mission that now requires 2 manned aircraft could be carried out by a single manned platform plus loyal wingman. If it works, it could certainly increase mass. If…