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FQ-44A
NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland—The U.S. Air Force has set a goal to field 1,000 new autonomous aircraft by 2032 along with tens of thousands of low-cost, long-range munitions in a signal to industry to increase its production capacity, though the long-term funding prospects remain up in the air.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink outlined the push during a keynote address Sept. 14 at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference here. Specifically, Meink wants 100 of the newly announced Modular Multi-Mission Aircraft by 2029 with another 400 to follow by 2032. The MMA is a replacement for the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. MQ-9 Reaper, with a push to have the new aircraft far cheaper to be built in bulk.
The Air Force has largely declined a push to replace the MQ-9A with the more capable, and more expensive, MQ-9B. The service is targeting a $10 million-per-copy price tag for the MMA. GA-ASI has announced a new aircraft design, called Wildfire, for the program and on Sept. 14 Swarm Aero announced its design called Gamera for the competition.
Meink says the service wants to field MMA in increments, pressing for iron on the ramp quickly while bringing on additional capabilities. The service is requiring an open systems architecture approach to allow for easier modifications.
“I think it’s important to note that the first 20 of these, and the second 20, and then next, 20 and the next 20—there will be evolution, and that was designed in the architecture to allow that to happen, so I expect to see continued involvement of those systems,” Meink says.
The Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) has been the service’s trailblazer program for autonomy, with a broad goal of 1,000 aircraft to be fielded. Meink says he wants 500 CCAs by 2032, providing a more specific and demanding requirement for industry to produce quickly. Gen. Dale White, the direct reporting program manager for major U.S. Air Force programs, says it is too early to tell if this number will solely be the first increment or later versions.
The service has contracted Anduril and General Atomics ASI for the first increment, and Meink announced Sept. 14 that GA-ASI’s F-42A will be called the “Vengeance,” while Anduril’s FQ-44A will retain its “Fury” name.
Meink in his address also called for a major increase in what has been called the Family of Affordable Mass Missiles. The service has contracted Anduril, CoAspire and Zone5 to begin production of the cheaper cruise missiles, with Meink showing an image of Zone5’s Rusty Dagger in flight test. During his keynote, Meink said the service needs to field tens of thousands of the missiles by 2030.
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