The Air Force’s latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) innovation are expected to take flight this year, Air Force Maj. Gen. Joe Kunkel said during Defense One’s “AI in the Skies” program on Jan. 28.
The collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), an uncrewed aircraft which fly alongside new and existing crewed fighter jets, contains AI-driven software that is designed to collaborate with and take directions from human pilots.
Kunkel said one of his desired goals with CCA is to support and reinforce fighter jet power in the Air Force, adding additional missile defense on missions.
“I wanted this loyal wingman or this truck that had extra missiles, that was next to me that I could fly, and I could fire missiles off of it … That’s, frankly, a lot of what CCA is right now. It’s adding mass to this fight where we need it and it’s doing it at an affordable rate.”
According to a 2025 Congressional Research Services report, in fiscal year 2025, Congress approved $3.3 billion for the Air Force to further research and development of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) family of systems, which includes CCA. The report further explained that CCA can assist in air-to-air combat; air-to-ground combat; electronic warfare; targeting; and intelligence; surveillance; and reconnaissance missions
Kunkel said simulations with CCA are successful so far and that he hopes to move forward implementing CCA for real-world applications.
“This manned/unmanned teaming concept has created really an unstoppable capability, particularly in this air-to-air fight which we know is going to be so important in the future,” Kunkel said.
Kunkel clarified that CCA are not going to be used in solo missions, but the human-operated component will be closely linked to its usage in fighter scenarios.
“You’ll see that tie to the manned platform be something that’s pretty important for how we operate in the future,” Kunkel said.
Kunkel guaranteed that the Air Force would not maintain a full flight line of CCA to sustain the machinery because they do not plan to use it as a “daily flyer.”
“The sustainment tail for the entirety of our Air Force has been a huge cost driver, and one of the things that is challenging for us to modernize in the way we like to,” Kunkel said. “We understand where the savings are and we’re actively pursuing them,” he added.
Since the force expects CCA to run less, Kunkel said they are pursuing engine options which are more affordable, sometimes at the cost of less reliability.
“Our defense industrial base is not used to building just ‘good enough’”, Kunkel explained. “One way to keep it affordable is to have a lesser engine, reliable enough, not too reliable.”
Overall, Kunkel said he is excited about the continued future development of CCA and looks forward to future iterations of the technology.
“Something that is more exquisite, carries more weapons, has more missions,” Kunkel said. “We’re looking at that entire space right now.”
