Over the past few months, Militär Aktuell has repeatedly highlighted the extent to which the concept of the “Loyal Wingmen” – known in the USA as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) – has now become the core of future philosophies in air warfare. Almost all major manufacturers are now firmly integrating the topic into their programs – and Austria will also have to deal with corresponding offers in the coming year when it comes to the Eurofighter successor.
There are plenty of examples of this: Lockheed Martin presented at the “DroneVation & Defense” of Militär Aktuell in Vienna the Vectis, General Atomics (GA-ASI) recently presented a European variant of its CCA Gambit and the Netherlands joined the US CCA program. Aviation expert Justin Bronk from the London-based RUSI Institute also outlined the strategic dimension of this trend to our editorial team.
Since then, the race for the further development of CCAs has accelerated further – particularly visible in the latest air-to-air weapon tests by Boeing and Baykar. Boeing had already announced in the spring that the Royal Australian Air Force jointly developed MQ-28A Ghost Bat as a carrier of an air-to-air missile for the first time. On December 8, this milestone was achieved: an unmanned MQ-28A destroyed an air target using an AIM-120 AMRAAM. Boeing and RAAF subsequently provided detailed information about the autonomous progress achieved – including the control of a CCA from the back seat of an F-15EX.
The first, however, were the Turks
However, Boeing was overtaken by the up-and-coming Turkish drone specialist Baykar by just a few days: As early as November 28, the UCAV Kizilelma succeeded in simulating an F-16 and successfully engaged a target using the Gökdoğan BVR missile from the Tübitak-Sage research institute – also beyond visual range. Whether Baykar has accelerated its test plan to get ahead of Boeing remains speculation. What is clear, however, is that the market for CCAs is becoming increasingly competitive. Companies such as Anduril Industries with the YFQ-44A Fury design or General Atomics with the YFQ-42A presented in Dubai are already expecting US batch sizes of up to 1,000 systems each.
Sweden is also pushing ahead with considerations for a comprehensive “system-of-systems” approach that combines manned and unmanned platforms. Several state-financed technologies and demonstrators are planned – including unmanned subsonic and supersonic stealth platforms as well as a cost-effective stealth drone weighing less than a ton. In the future, these systems will also be developed together with the Saab Gripen E fleet and beyond in a possible successor system (-> Saab and Sweden intensify development of a 6th generation fighter jet demonstrator).
Korea, Emirates, Russia, China
In other countries, too, there is enormous momentum with regard to Loyal Wingman and CCA. For example, Korea Aerospace Industries recently presented its CCA concepts at a trade fair in Seoul. In Dubai Edge from the United Arab Emirates presented a scale model of the Jeniah project – a platform on the borderline between a classic “wingman” and an autonomous UCAV. The same applies to the unmanned derivative of the Russian Su-75 Checkmate, whose manned maiden flight is scheduled for 2026 according to Rostec. On September 3, 2025, China in turn showed four to five UCAV designs (provisionally types A to E) for the first time, which clearly fall into the wingman and CCA category – a clear signal that Beijing is actively working on the next generation of aerial warfare.
All in all, the growing spread of CCAs – despite many still being conceptual designs – marks the beginning of a new development phase that is reminiscent of the rapid innovation cycles of early military aviation. Their rise is being driven by falling costs for computing power and sensor technology as well as massive advances in artificial intelligence. AI will enable CCAs to operate largely autonomously, prepare decisions – from weapons deployment to electronic warfare – and support human crews in breaking through enemy air defenses.
But can they also “fight”?
The latest tests prove that unmanned combat aircraft can hit aerial targets – and are therefore likely to take on the role of vanguard or effect reinforcement over long distances, particularly against high-value targets such as tankers or AWACS. However, there are still doubts among pilots as to whether CCAs can hold their own against maneuverable opponents or experienced pilots who actively evade them and are warned in good time.
However, there is now also reliable evidence for this: As part of the DARPA Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program, an AI competed against experienced pilots in the modified X-62A VISTA (an F-16-like test platform) in 2023/24. The AI acted autonomously while a human safety pilot remained on board – and won several dogfight scenarios. The main aim of the tests was to demonstrate the ability of AI agents to perform safe and trusted autonomy within visual range.
This is not (yet) “the” future
DARPA itself emphasizes that this is a “proof of concept” – not proof of comprehensive AI superiority. However, the findings will be incorporated into the development of future autonomous combat drones and AI assistance systems. Realistic air battles of the future will also be heavily influenced by sensor technology, team tactics and electronic warfare – usually at long distances and far beyond classic dogfight maneuvers.
Saab test pilot and ESA astronaut Marcus Wandt (-> Marcus Wandt recently became the new Saab Vice President): Although he had the “AI Gripen” fly almost “hands off” at times, a pilot will remain on board in the future to monitor the AI and intervene if necessary. During the latest test with the Centaur Helsing software, a Gripen-E simulated an aerial combat against a Gripen-D. Centaur continuously processed real-time data for target detection, tracking and engagement – and issued fire commands and suggestions. Wandt’s conclusion: “Not bad.” Nevertheless, these are initial approximations – pilots will not suddenly become superfluous. However, the knowledge gained will be incorporated into unmanned CCA systems and Swedish 6th generation concepts.
