US Air Force Needs Robotic Wingmen In Fight Against Communist China: Report
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-air-force-needs-robotic-wingmen-fight-against-communist-china-report
The U.S. Air Force needs to pair its manned combat aircraft with next-generation dronesโknown as collaborative combat aircraft (CCA)โto gain the air superiority needed in a war against Chinaโs communist regime, according to a recent report by the Washington-based Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
The report, based on wargames run by the Mitchell Institute in counterair missions defending Taiwan against Chinaโs Peopleโs Liberation Army (PLA), demonstrates how CCAs were used as airborne sensors, decoys, jammers, or weapon launchers in cooperation with crewed aircraft like the Air Forceโs 5th generation fighter F-35 and F-22 Raptor.
The Pentagon has characterized China as its pacing challenge amid the regimeโs rapid modernization of its military. According to a 2023 report from the Department of Defense (DOD), PLA Air Force and PLA Navy Aviation had about 2,400 combat aircraft, and China โprobably will become a majority fourth-generation force within the next several years.โ
In comparison, the report notes that the U.S. Air Force currently โoperates a force that is the oldest, smallest, and least ready in its history,โ adding that it now consists primarily of 179 aging 4th-generation F-15C/Ds and 185 5th-generation F-22s.
โThe defense budget trends tell us itโs simply unreasonable to assume the Air Force, or DOD for that matter, will soon be able to match the PLA aircraft for aircraft, weapon for weapon, ship for ship, and so on,โ said Mark Gunzingerโa retired Air Force colonel who leads future concepts and capability assessments at the Mitchell Institute, and one of the authors of the reportโduring the reportโs rollout event on Feb. 6.
โInstead, our military must invest in asymmetric capabilities that will disrupt the PLAโs operations, impose costs, and create the conditions for mission success. And thatโs a key reason why the Air Force is developing CCA,โ Mr. Gunzinger added.
According to the Department of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, CCAs must be capable of โtaking high level directionโ from a pilot and then โautonomously implementing this direction.โ The uncrewed aircraft must also employ โa distributed, mission-tailorable mix of sensors, weapons, and other mission equipment.โ
Acting Air Force Undersecretary Krysten E. Jones disclosed during an event held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in January that contracts had been awarded to five companies to build a fleet of 1,000 CCAs. Air & Space Forces Magazine later confirmed the five selected companies are Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Anduril, and General Atomics.
โFailing to achieve air superiority in a conflict with China would greatly increase the risk of a costly defeat that has existential, long-term impacts on the security of the United States and its allies,โ the report says.
CCAs
Mr. Gunzinger emphasized that CCAs can be more than adjuncts to crewed aircraft.
โThereโs a need to break from the mindset that CCA will always operate in support of crewed aircraft,โ Mr. Gunzinger said. โCCAsโthat are properly designed, have the right mission systems, [and] degree of autonomyโcould also be used as lead forces to disrupt enemiesโ air defense operations.โ
The report explains that expendable CCAsโcheaper models with less advanced features that come with a price tag of $15 million or less eachโcould be used as lead forces to โcomplicate the PLAโs counterair targetingโ and โcause PLA defenses to partially deplete their air-to-air and surface-to-air weapons.โ
CCAs can also work with non-stealthy combat aircraft, according to the report.
โToday, the Air Forceโs non-stealthy combat aircraft may have to stand-off from Chinese air defenses at distances that are outside the range of current U.S. counterair weaponsโpossibly 800 [nautical miles] or more,โ the report reads.
When paired with CCAs, stand-off bombers and fighters could โdirectly contribute to the fight for air superiority,โ according to the report. Meanwhile, crewed combat aircraft can become more lethal when paired with CCAs.
โUsing CCA as sensors and shooters could also reduce the need for crewed fighters to activate their radar, open their weapons bay doors, or perform other actions that would temporarily reduce their stealthy signature,โ the report says. โThis would help reduce crewed aircraft attrition rates, which has a force-multiplying effect over the course of an air campaign.โ
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