US Accelerates AI Unmanned Fighter Jet Development with "80 Trillion Won Investment"

Two Defense Companies Selected This Summer
Squadron Escort Aircraft 'Wingman' Replacement

As the US-China hegemonic competition escalates into a new Cold War, the US Air Force is reportedly accelerating the development of AI-based unmanned combat aircraft, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 3rd (local time).

According to the report, the US Department of Defense plans to select two defense contractors by this summer to develop AI unmanned combat aircraft called Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), investing a total of $60 billion (approximately 80 trillion won) over five years. Currently, US defense contractors such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics, and Anduril are candidates.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Boeing previously unveiled the unmanned combat aircraft MQ-28 'Ghost Bat' and signed a supply contract with the Royal Australian Air Force. Anduril has released model images of its developing unmanned combat aircraft 'Fury,' and General Atomics, the developer of the unmanned drone 'Reaper' (MQ-9), has unveiled rendering images of the AI-based new unmanned aircraft series 'Gambit.' However, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have kept their development programs confidential so far.

The goal of the unmanned collaborative combat aircraft is to replace the 'wingman' that escorts the squadron leader (the lead aircraft responsible for preemptive strikes). It is essentially an 'AI wingman' capable of jointly performing escort and attack missions under the command of a human-piloted squadron leader. Military experts also expect the collaborative combat aircraft to operate in formation alongside the US's latest fighters such as the F-35, F-22, and the next-generation stealth strategic bomber B-21 'Raider.'

One of the reasons the US Air Force is accelerating AI unmanned combat aircraft development is cost concerns. According to the WSJ, due to the continuous rise in production costs of existing military aircraft, the US Air Force faces concerns that it will be flying the smallest and oldest aircraft since 1947. The fact that China is pouring massive budgets into strengthening its air force to gain numerical superiority over the US adds to the sense of crisis.

The US Air Force currently estimates the target production cost of AI unmanned combat aircraft to be $20 million to $30 million (approximately 2.6 billion to 4 billion won). The defense industry expects this cost to potentially be reduced to below $10 million (approximately 1.3 billion won) in the future. If such production costs become a reality, the US Air Force could produce 10 unmanned aircraft for the price of one F-35 stealth fighter, which costs $100 million per unit.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.