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Air Force

High Costs for Manned Fighters and Bombers Have Air Force Looking to Field Combat Drones

Frank Wolfe

Monday, February 7th, 2022

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High Costs for Manned Fighters and Bombers Have Air Force Looking to Field Combat Drones

F-35A Lightning IIs from the 388th Fighter Wing's 421st Fighter Squadron taxi down the runway at Nellis AFB, Nev. on Jan. 28 (U.S. Air Force Photo)

High costs for U.S. Air Force manned air-to-air and strike platforms, such as the future Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) sixth-generation fighter, the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35, the Northrop Grumman [NOC] B-21 Raider bomber, and the Boeing [BA] F-15EX, have the service examining a "system of systems" approach for fighters and bombers in which manned aircraft could control a small group of combat drones. "One of the problems we have in the Air Force is that the next generation of…

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