USAF wants 200 sixth-generation fighters and 1,000 unmanned combat aircraft by 2030

Frank Kendall, Secretary of the U.S. Air Force gave the keynote address at the Air and Space Force Association’s (AFA) Warfare Symposium 2023 on March 7, in which he reported that by the 2030s the USAF aims to have 200 sixth-generation NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance) fighters and 1,000 CCA (Collaborative Combat Aircraft) unmanned combat aircraft operational.

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According to an article published by Air & Space Forces Magazine (AFA’s official media outlet), Kendall stated that the next generation of air dominance systems will consist of the sixth-generation fighter under development, NGAD, and “the introduction of uncrewed collaborative aircraft to provide affordable mass and dramatically increased cost effectiveness”.

The “notional” 1,000 CCA figure was derived from “an assumed two CCAs for 200 NGAD platforms, and an additional two for each of 300 F-35s,” Kendall said.

See also: Remote Carriers, the unmanned companions of Europe’s sixth-generation fighters

Kendall cautioned that “this isn’t an inventory objective, but a planning assumption to use for analysis of things such as basic organizational structures, training and range requirements, and sustainment concepts.”

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While the number of sixth-generation aircraft the USAF plans to acquire has so far been kept secret, Kendall’s hypothetical number of 200 would suggest that the NGAD will be the successor to the current F-22 when it is decommissioned in the 2030s.

Asked at a subsequent press conference why the planning figure mentioned 300 F-35s – when the U.S. Air Force’s inventory target remains 1,763 F-35As – Kendall said it is «just a reasonable starting point. It’s somewhat arbitrary.»

Regarding the 1,000 CCA, this is also a somewhat speculative figure, since it is a new technology that has to be duly developed and tested in operational environments. Although in the future there could be many more aircraft of this type accompanying each manned fighter, everything will depend on the speed with which the technological and doctrinal maturity necessary for its correct deployment is reached.