The Air Force has picked Anduril and General Atomics to continue developing their autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft concepts over designs offered by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. In a non-traditional move, the companies that were not picked will still be able to compete to produce the resulting aircraft.
https://airandspaceforces.com/cca-contract-winners-to-be-announced-imminently
https://www.af.mil/news/article/3754980
Previously
https://desuarchive.org/k/thread/60405100
question:
why are piloted craft even necessary anymore?
couldnt you just make an entirely remote piloted fighter/bomber/multirole jet?
>couldnt you just make an entirely remote piloted fighter/bomber/multirole jet?
yes https://desuarchive.org/k/thread/61377853
>why are piloted craft even necessary anymore?
cost
ew https://desuarchive.org/k/thread/61396626
need for further testing https://youtu.be/C8yjtaZfNCw
Yes, but only insofar as providing local control for autonomous aircraft. Long range comms have a certain degree of latency and are more liable to get jammed. A pilot in NGAD flying behind the lines but still within line-of-sight of the drones they're commanding will be able to more rapidly react to a changing battlefield environment. Also, with the low latency allowing for a human pilot be the trigger puller, there's less ethical objections to the concept.
I'm guessing this is for OBSS, I presume they're talking about Fury and XQ-67 here. It'll be interesting to see what comes of this, offloading your RF emissions to expendable drones with potentially far cheaper (though proportionally less capable) sensors that you can risk pushing closer to the enemy would allow for a lot of interesting tactics, both for air-to-air and air-to-ground. I wonder when we'll see the combat component this.
It also allows the NGAD aircraft to carry a large computer (since it has a lot more power to spare from its larger engine) to offload processing from the CCAs.
>why are piloted craft even necessary anymore?
AI isn't good enough that we can trust it. We only trust it for short quick missions that are very simple, like cruise missiles.
>AI isn't good enough that we can trust it
i dont mean entrusting it to AI, i mean just eliminating the pilots physical need to be in the plane
sure we have sensors and imaging systems now that are so advanced that actually being in the jet makes no difference to playing it like a video game on a VR screen
There's no eliminating physics.
latency and jamming, if you're flying from the other side of the planet in a shed in Montana you're looking at 200ms+ ping. Go play Warthunder with 300 ping to see the disadvantage that might pose.
I want to see AWACS/stealthy mothership planes hosting 4-8 pilots, each commanding fighter drones that can pull constant 15G turns
the f35 could easily be upgraded to be used as a drone or AI aircraft. It was designed specifically for it's computers to be upgraded. I wouldn't doubt that it can be flown as a drone or as AI already.
The NGAD will probably be drone or AI capable as well.
Honestly shocked Lockheed and Northrup are out. Boeing I get. I've never even heard on anduril but it's nice to see new aircraft makers.
Hopefully the non-binding "selection" of the VR dweeb is more of a gambit to light a fire under lockmart and northrop's asses than a real decision. They are bringing so much #techculture cancer to weapons development.
could also allow them to take on a portion of the work and work together with one of the two existing contract winners.
https://www.anduril.com/
They have the right ideas, but they also have political connects and sketchily clean ads, so I'm not too confident in the hardware side of their stuff.
>founders and investors associated with SpaceX
elon better not frick with my CCA.
Isn't that the company that the oculus rift guy made?
Yes, he was making VR headsets in like 2009/10.
Now he'll be making drone wingmen
General Atomics isn't new. They make Predator/Reaper/Grey Eagle drones.
The USAF picked the same people that have been making their drones for the last 25 years.
>Anduril, the Flame of the West
based company name
the founder is the dude who made the oculus rift right?
He got a fat check for his company from the zuck and fricked off to enter the arms industry.
he got fired for being a right winger
>Senator Ted Cruz asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg "Why was Palmer Luckey fired?". Zuckerberg refused to get into the "specific personnel matter", saying only that "it was not because of a political view"
you're making shit up because you want it to fit your narrative.
They DID try to pressure him to publicly endorse Gary Johnson (basically just to quash the media stories about him being a MAGA trumper which at the time was causing some developers to not wish to work with Occulus) which was against California law. But he wasn't fired because he didn't and he wasn't fired for supporting donald trump.
i think you actually believe this, which is pretty funny
The moron left on his own because he got offended that they tried to pressure him for PR reasons.
That's not the same thing as being fired for political views. He's just autistic and noped out.
>my source: mark zuckerberg said so
this is funny because your source is literally nothing.
my source is facebook giving him $100m to avoid a wrongful termination suit https://archive.is/osoxB
No, they gave him $100M for pressuring him to vote for johnson, which is illegal.
He wasn't fired.
Again, you're just making shit up to fit your own narrative.
>pressuring him to vote for johnson
Sorry, pressuring him to SAY he'd vote for johnson.
They weren't actually trying to get him to change his vote, as they didn't actually care who he voted for. Because again, it was a PR move.
>He wasn't fired.
if you think the wall street journal's lying because zuckerberg said so then take it up with them.
>they trusted me, dumbfricks
So with this getting closer how long till we see NGAD?
It took 9 years for the F-35 to go from first flight to being fielded so being fielded in 30's for NGAD means it should be somewhat soon right?
We know they had flying demonstrators for NGAD, but actual first flight probably isn't for another 4-5 years
what's the difference between tech demonstrator and prototype? Wiki says at least 3 prototypes have flown as of last year
hmmm i'm actually a little confused looking at GCAP, apparently they are planning on having a demonstrator by 2027 with active service by 2035, would i be wrong to assume that's not a Tech Demo like what NGAD flew in 2020 and is also farther along than the prototypes NGAD had flying last year? Or is GCAP just hopelessly optimistic on going from Tech Demo to active service in 8~ years
The NGAD tech demonstrators/prototypes were from different companies with different designs to let the airforce evaluate which design they want to mature into a final aircraft. The GCAP tech demonstrator is a joint design from all 3 nations with an already agreed upon design goal/path.
Boeing out even though they have the MQ-25 and MQ-28? sad
There's apparently going to be 2 different drone programs for NGAD, part 1 is more focused on just putting more weapons in the air, part 2 is going to be more focused on extra capabilities such as stealth
Too small and without weapons. Not worth it.
Multiply CAD file by 1.8x
>Anduril
are they the future next big defense contractor
That's what they would have you believe. They'll likely get bought out once they become enough of an annoyance to the primes.
>They'll likely get bought out once they become enough of an annoyance to the primes.
Meme acquisition by SpaceX to expand their defense unit, if Musk is still in control there when Anduril goes public.
>Starships launching fleets of transorbital hypersonic drones
launching fleets of transorbital hypersonic drones
got hard reading this
>Meme acquisition by SpaceX to expand their defense unit, if Musk is still in control there when Anduril goes public.
That would be a realistic outcome if Musk weren't such a sperg.
As it is, even for memes, he can't help fricking shit up by getting clever about pump&dumps and trying to Trump his way out of paying bills. I sort of think someone as easily offended as the Anduril guy would end up noping out of a Musk deal once some Musk shenanigans ensued.
And he probably has the business sense to write in some time-wasting penalty clause to the acquisition agreement so that he gets paid for the trouble of rejecting a buy-out that gets fricked up.
my body is ready
COFFIN system when?