A UK Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet readies for take off at Royal Air Force Coningsby, England. (UK MoD)
LONDON — The United Kingdom has officially designated its Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone wingman effort as the Storm Fighter, and is planning at least two new designs of unmanned aircraft to bolster its unmanned ambitions, government officials revealed today.
The new nomenclature for the CCA program was disclosed this morning by Luke Pollard, the UK’s minister of state for defense readiness and industry. Speaking during a keynote address here at the Global Air and Space Chiefs Conference, Pollard said the drone wingmen will perform as both a “guardian angel” and “attack dog” for British tactical aircraft.
Along with a planned futuristic fighter, Storm Fighter will “make the RAF [Royal Air Force] Europe’s first six-generation air force,” Pollard said, adding that CCA development would “lay the ground for exports, growth, partnership with friendly nations, more defense jobs, and a more resilient defense industrial base.”
Air forces around the world are pursuing CCA designs to provide what officials often describe as an “affordable mass” of systems, reasoning that the drones can supplement manned fighters at a lower cost. CCA are broadly envisioned to serve any number of roles, from lugging extra missiles to electronic attack and reconnaissance. In combat, they could also act as a missile sponge to help protect pilots.
