The US Air Force has awarded contracts to five companies to build the autonomy software for its future drone wingman.
The names of the chosen firms were not disclosed for security reasons, but officials said they represent a mix of both traditional and nontraditional manufacturers.
According to program executive officer Brig. Gen. Jason Voorheis, the five vendors will compete to build the so-called “brains” of the loyal wingmen, just as other companies are competing for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).
They are expected to meet certain performance criteria; otherwise, they will be eliminated as the competition progresses.
“There will be a down select process…” Voorheis told reporters. “We will get down to a lower number of those vendors and they will create an autonomy implementation that will be applied to CCA increment 1.”
No Timeline Available
Advanced Aircraft Division official Col. Timothy Helfrich said the air force has established specific touch points where autonomy software vendors and air vehicle vendors will exchange models to ensure compatibility.
He further stated that the service will have an independent way of assessing both models to confirm they are working well together.
These processes are expected to affect the timeline for the autonomy software development phase, with air force officials declining to say when exactly the next contracts will be awarded.
They have also not disclosed the total value of the contracts awarded and when a decision will be issued.
“You can think of the mission autonomy as the brain of your autonomous vehicle. It is important that many protections are put around that, which drove the different classification posture,” Helfrich stressed.
Drone Wingman Program
Part of the broader CCA program, the drone wingman initiative aims to utilize artificial intelligence to support the operations of sixth-generation fighters and bombers.
The drones will act as scouts, electronic warfare jammers, or first attackers for the aircraft they are escorting.
Defense giants Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Northrop Grumman, and Anduril are reported to be included in the pool of vendors.
At least 1,000 CCAs are planned to be fielded by the late 2030s.