USAF Tests Drones for Bare Airfield Operations

The US Air Force is pushing to rapidly deploy its next-generation Loyal Wingman drones from bare airfields with minimal ground support. The service is designing these Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) as low-cost, rugged force enhancers that can operate from a simple strip of flat earth and a data-link.

Extreme ruggedness and simplicity are vital for the CCA program, which supports the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment doctrine. The drones are intended to be expendable, costing roughly one-third as much as an F-35 fighter jet, allowing large numbers to be deployed rapidly. Building independence from conventional airfield facilities will let the USAF set up dispersed units at remote locations on short notice.

Rapid Development and Initial Testing

The CCA program has moved from concept to flight testing in less than two years. The Air Force aims to build a vast armada of 1,000 or more of these drones. In late July, the service conducted its first major test outside a sterile environment with both prototype drones, the General Atomics FQ-42A Dark Merlin and the Anurail FQ-44A Fury.

This multi-day exercise was held at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada and overseen by the Experimental Operations Unit. The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center also observed, with the service declaring the demo a resounding success. Images released showed both prototype CCAs conducting landings at Creech while carrying air-to-air missiles and completing refueling operations.

Lt. Col. Matthew Jensen, commander of the Experimental Operations Unit, said the exercise was about getting the systems into the hands of the warfighter. "We are focused on operating CCA outside of a traditional test environment so we can continue to learn, inform, and rapidly iterate," he stated.

Portable Command and Control Evaluated

A key element of deploying drones to austere sites is the rapid setup of remote piloting stations. On August 13, the US Air Force announced it successfully completed prototype evaluations of the Portable Command and Control Enclave (C2E), designed to control CCAs from remote locations.

The demonstration was hosted by the Ohio Air National Guard’s 178th Wing at Springfield Air National Guard Base. Col. Eric Reagan, director of the Agile Development Office, called it a direct embodiment of acquisition transformation. "This partnership allows us to accelerate the fielding of the best-value capabilities," he remarked.

The Air Force stated the next prototype phase would soon begin, challenging vendors to refine more mature C2E combat cloud capabilities. The press release did not identify the specific contractors or systems involved in the evaluation.

Live-Fire Tests and Red Flag Anticipation

The real-world testing at Creech was preceded by the first live-fire demonstrations in the CCA program's history at Edwards AFB in California. During that event, the FQ-44A Fury fired an AIM-120 long-range air-to-air missile at a simulated target over the Mojave Desert.

Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told Air & Space Forces magazine he expects the CCAs to make their debut at this year's annual Red Flag exercise at Nellis AFB. He speculated that introducing the drones could produce fascinating results. "When the guys with the CCAs are beating the crap out of the guys without them, and not losing any manned fighters, that’s going to be pretty obvious, right?" Kendall said.

He added that the drones protect crewed fighters effectively, contributing significantly to a battle even if they are destroyed. Battle simulations have consistently shown a high victory rate for forces using CCAs alongside crewed aircraft. The exercise may also feature the Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat, a drone not selected for the USAF program but now in production for the Royal Australian Air Force.