Drones, the Air Littoral, and the Looming Irrelevance of the USAF

[Kirkhill]

Interesting move after the defence industry majors got called out by Trump

Northrop signs up with Kratos to deliver a USMC CCA based on the Valkyrie MQ-58 after getting its own Talon CCA on the Air Force list.
It looks as if the actual aircraft will be the Kratos Valkyrie but Northrop will be supplying suitably sized mission packages and its own Prism autonomy software. That will likely work in conjunction with the AI Shield system.

US Marine Corps taps Northrop, Kratos to build Valkyrie drone wingmen

The U.S. Marine Corps' Valkyries will run using Northrop's autonomous Prism software, and use a sensor and technology package tailored to fit in a drone.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Kirkhill]

US Homeland defence moves that may end up resonating up here.

The US has determined that surveillance constitutes a threat and consequently base commanders in the US need the authority to neutralize drones operating beyond their fenced perimeters which usually consituted the limits of their authority.

Dead drones falling in suburban yards?

Create a Joint Task Force.

Pentagon expands counter-drone authorities beyond 'fence line' - Breaking Defense

The new guidance also grants service secretaries the power to designate what facilities should have special protections against drone threats.

breakingdefense.com

 

[Kirkhill]

Converting a target UAV, originally designed as a low-cost asset, into a long-range strike weapon is a highly pragmatic approach​

Taiwan Draws on Ukraine's Experience to Turn MQM-178 Firejet Target Drone into Cruise Missile | Defense Express

Converting a target UAV, originally designed as a low-cost asset, into a long-range strike weapon is a highly pragmatic approach

en.defence-ua.com

Taipei looked to Ukraine's experience and planned to procure more than a thousand naval drones. Now, it is actively converting a target drone into a long-range strike system.

As announced by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), which despite its name is a powerful state-owned corporation responsible for developing missile systems and other weapons, a successful test of the Mighty Hornet IV strike UAV has been conducted. This system is a modification of the MQM-178 Firejet produced by the U.S. company Kratos.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Female, former Canadian tanker. Now flying drones in Ukraine... Good watch.

 

[ytz]

Good watch. Some wrong lessons. I'm getting tired of the overemphasis of drones that comes from a war that is not like what Canada would likely face. Ukraine wouldn't be using FPVs nearly as much if they had TLAMs, F-35s, JASSMs and high visit rate ISR satellites downloading directly to their CAOC.

 

[Kirkhill]

Good watch. Some wrong lessons. I'm getting tired of the overemphasis of drones that comes from a war that is not like what Canada would likely face. Ukraine wouldn't be using FPVs nearly as much if they had TLAMs, F-35s, JASSMs and high visit rate ISR satellites downloading directly to their CAOC.

How many hands does it take to count the number of TLAMs and JASSMs we have in stock, not to mention the F35s or the pylons and BRUs to attach Harpoons to our Auroras?

Even the Yanks are counting their units with care because they can't build them as fast as Ukraine is using them.

We will need lots and lots and lots of cheap stuff.

 

[armrdsoul77]

Ukrainian F-16 using guns on enemy drone.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Good watch. Some wrong lessons. I'm getting tired of the overemphasis of drones that comes from a war that is not like what Canada would likely face. Ukraine wouldn't be using FPVs nearly as much if they had TLAMs, F-35s, JASSMs and high visit rate ISR satellites downloading directly to their CAOC.

She struck me as someone with a real warriors spirit. We would do well with more of her.

 

[Kirkhill]

The Marines have aleady adopted the low cost, immediately available Kratos Valkyrie as a CCA solution
They continue their experimentation with the higher end GAA YFQ-42 offering.

US Marine Corps to test 'digital brain' on YFQ-42A 'wingman' drone

The US Marine Corps will test how well the YFQ-42 'wingman' drone can function alongside crewed fighter jets.

interestingengineering.com

That will allow them to directly the 4 and 40 MUSD solutions.


....

The USMC has a reputation of being careful with their cash.

Marine Corps continues streak as only service to pass financial audit

For its third consecutive year, the U.S. Marine Corps keeps its record as the first and only service to cleanly pass a financial audit.

www.militarytimes.com

 

[Kirkhill]

More on fielding drones as CCAs

YFQ-42 Fighter Drone To Test USMC's Autonomy 'Brain' Alongside Crewed Jets

General Atomics' YFQ-42 has been selected by the Marines to test how CCAs will think and fight with the MAGTF.

www.twz.com

This timeline seems important

Increment 1 - 2025-2030 - Kratos Valkyrie
Increment 2 - 2030-2035
Increment 3 - 2035-2040

" Increment 1 is the MQ-58, which the service has said in past budget documents is focused primarily on the “rapid and relevant capability delivery of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).” A new USMC Aviation Plan released today shows the goal now is to field Increment 2 and Increment 3 capabilities in the 2030-2035 and 2035-2040 timeframes, respectively. "

But


"These increments are unrelated to the ones the USAF has planned for its CCA program. However, the two services, as well as the Navy, are actively cooperating on the development of relevant capabilities, including common command and control architectures."

....


"while these tests will be broad in scope, well above evaluating the platform being used, it certainly will give the USMC a close-up look at the YFQ-42, which is becoming increasingly similar to Kratos’ XQ-58 as that drone becomes larger, more complex, and capable of runway operations.

"In the end, if the CCA concept truly pans out as promised — which remains a glaring question — it is very unlikely to be ‘owned’ by a single company and a small handful of their designs. The iterative nature of the services’ competitions for CCAs alone makes such a circumstance a farce. Services will more likely than not procure a variety of airframes, all with different attributes, from different vendors over time, and their brains, along with the software that is installed in them, could be equally as varied, if not more so.

"Regardless, the YFQ-42 has just officially been selected to be put to work for the Marines, which marks a significant vote of confidence in General Atomics’ design."


Key point - CCA is an iterative journey similar to that one that linked the Sopwith Camel to the F35