A Canadian CCA?

[Kirkhill]

On March 5, 2026, the Canadian company Dominion Dynamics announced a $50 million investment to initiate the development of a sovereign Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP), an uncrewed aircraft intended to operate alongside crewed fighter jets such as the F-35 or the Gripen. The ACP is conceived as an autonomous wingman designed to extend the operational range of fighters and enable missions in environments considered too dangerous or too distant for human pilots. The project aims to establish Canada’s first domestically designed collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), capable of operating as part of networked formations involving crewed fighters, surveillance aircraft, and ground control nodes.

Canada develops sovereign loyal wingman drone to boost F-35's combat capabilities

Canada Dominion Dynamics launches ACP autonomous drone program designed to operate with F35 fighters in surveillance electronic warfare and strike support tasks

armyrecognition.com

 

[GR66]

On March 5, 2026, the Canadian company Dominion Dynamics announced a $50 million investment to initiate the development of a sovereign Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP), an uncrewed aircraft intended to operate alongside crewed fighter jets such as the F-35 or the Gripen. The ACP is conceived as an autonomous wingman designed to extend the operational range of fighters and enable missions in environments considered too dangerous or too distant for human pilots. The project aims to establish Canada’s first domestically designed collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), capable of operating as part of networked formations involving crewed fighters, surveillance aircraft, and ground control nodes.

Canada develops sovereign loyal wingman drone to boost F-35's combat capabilities

Canada Dominion Dynamics launches ACP autonomous drone program designed to operate with F35 fighters in surveillance electronic warfare and strike support tasks

armyrecognition.com

What I like is that this is a system that is specifically being designed for the unique challenges of Canada's geography.

Dominion Dynamics was founded in Ottawa to develop sovereign defence technologies adapted to Canadian operational requirements, particularly in remote environments such as the Arctic. The company’s activities include the development of sensor networks, artificial intelligence systems, and autonomous vehicles engineered to operate in extreme climates and remote territories.


One of its current projects involves building a persistent sensing architecture that integrates sensors across land, sea, air, and space to produce a continuous operational picture of northern regions. These networks combine commercial sensors with communications nodes that transmit data from remote locations to command centres where information is fused into a single intelligence stream. The system is intended to support surveillance missions and provide early warning capabilities in regions with limited communications infrastructure. The company has tested elements of this architecture with Canadian Rangers in northern environments to collect operational data on hardware performance in extreme cold conditions.

The architecture also integrates onboard processing, so sensors and autonomous vehicles could interpret information locally before transmitting it through the network. Dominion Dynamics’ strategy reflects the perspective of its founder and chief executive officer Eliot Pence, who previously led international market expansion at the US defence company Anduril Industries. Pence has argued that future military capabilities will depend increasingly on integrated networks of sensors, communications systems, and autonomous vehicles rather than on individual aircraft alone. From this perspective, the decisive element of air power lies not only in the aircraft but in the surrounding architecture of software, sensing, and mission systems that determine how fighter jets operate within distributed formations.

The kind of communication web they are talking about to support their ACP I think is key to autonomous operations in the huge and sparsely developed territory of the Arctic and is why I think a domestic program is required. This same network, once established could likely be leveraged for other systems as well.

Note also that the founder, Eliot Pence, brings some experience to the venture having formerly been with Andruil.

 

[OldSolduer]

What I like is that this is a system that is specifically being designed for the unique challenges of Canada's geography.

And therefore could conceivably adapted for other nations to purchase.....

 

[PPCLI Guy]

Note also that the founder, Eliot Pence, brings some experience to the venture having formerly been with Andruil.

Gen Eyre, LGen Rouleau, and Erin O'Toole are on the Board, and I believe Janice Stein is as well.

I have spoken with Eliot Pence, and he has a very clear vision for both Dominion, and the defence industrial base.

 

[childs56]

This has been a long time coming. I am glad to see this might become a reality. This will hopefully excel our 6/7 gen programs.

 

[Kirkhill]

The F-35 vs. JAS 39 Gripen Dilemma: How the ACP Drone Changes Canada’s Fighter Debate

Dominion Dynamics invests $50M in a sovereign Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) to act as a "Loyal Wingman" for Canada's F-35 and Gripen fleets.

www.19fortyfive.com

30 F-35s committed?

"The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has already made a financial commitment to purchase 30 F-35A airframes, with the first 8 specimens to be delivered in the coming months to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where Canadian fighter jocks will begin immediate training."

Full scale production of the CCA/ACP in 24 to 36 months? - Adventuresome.

"The Way Forward for ACP and the RCAF F-35​

The first development phase of the ACP program centers on the creation of scaled prototypes before moving to a full-scale aircraft within a projected 24 to 36 months."

 

[SeaKingTacco]

I thought it was 32, so far (18+14).

 

[suffolkowner]

I thought it was 32, so far (18+14).

i thought it was 16 + 14

 

[Kirkhill]

“we just never predicted the numbers and scale of what we’re seeing.”

...

I just posted this video about a homebuilt Stinger analog created with 3D printing. a sugar and potassium nitrate engine and a bunch of sensors, motors, processors and connectors picked up at a local ectronics store for under $100

...

I had just finished reading these articles.

Air Force Revisiting Production Goals for CCA with Eye on ‘Scale’

Air Force leaders are poised to decide as early as this summer on the number of Collaborative Combat Aircraft the service will need.

www.airandspaceforces.com

Kendall: CCA Increment 2 Shouldn’t Be ‘Exquisite,’ But Better than Increment 1

Increment 2 of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) should have more capability but not be "exquisite," Secretary Frank Kendall said.

www.airandspaceforces.com

....

The USAF was looking at procuring 100 exquisite CCAs by 2029 at a unit cost of 30,000,000 USD. While that is a literal "fraction of the cost of an F-35" a quarter to a third is not what most people think of when someone says "a fraction of the price".

To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee:"That's not a fraction! This is a fraction."

The debate was between a 30,000,000 exquisite solution sometime in the never never or a functional 3,000,000 solution today.

The debate seems to have been won by the adequately functional low cost solution today. And lots of them.

...

The Air Force has not established production plans for Increment 2, but Secretary Troy Meink is pushing for “dramatically increase production” of weapons systems across the board.

While operational considerations play a role, he said the real push is driven by a shift in the types of threats the military faces.

“When we started fielding some of these systems, we weren’t concerned about thousands of ballistic missiles, particularly from smaller countries,” Meink said.

Whether it’s air-based, ground-to-air, air defense, or offensive action systems, Meink said, “we just never predicted the numbers and scale of what we’re seeing.”

...

Dominion can probably meet their timelines with a useful product if the adhere to the 70% rule and this: KISS.

 

[Kirkhill]

RAF picking up the pace

Exclusive: RAF Boss Speeds CCA Plan, Details Combat Fleet Ambition | Aviation Week

In a wide-ranging interview with Aviation Week, the head of the UK Royal Air Force has said he wants to accelerate development of collaborative combat aircraft and field an operational capability before the end of the decade.

aviationweek.com

"Service boss Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth wants an operational concept demonstrator to be flying alongside a Eurofighter Typhoon as soon as the 2027 edition of NATO’s Steadfast Defender exercise. An operational capability should then be in service before the end of this decade. Smyth wants to see several iterations and enhancements of RAF CCA platforms by the time the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) fighter enters service in the late 2030s."

...


"Even as he presses the service to embrace a tech startup fail-early mindset, he argues the RAF has “inappropriately” been accused of being risk averse. “Actually, in my experience we are incredibly risk aware, and we know how to manage risk against the imperative,” he said. “This is why we are being so successful on both operations, and in capability development and delivery.”

"One example, he said, is the recent rapid integration of the BAE Systems APKWS II guided rocket system onto the Eurofighter. It was achieved in just 42 days from initial development to front-line service, despite initial projections the process could take up to two years.

"“If it was not for the fact that we were deployed and there was an immediate operational imperative, I think we may have struggled to meet those timelines,” Smyth said.

"“The big lesson for defense is that we should not have to wait to be in a shooting war to be able to achieve these great outcomes. We should be able make this business as usual,” he continued.

"“That’s my big push in the air force, to inject pace and get ahead of where the adversary is,” Smyth added."

 

[Kirkhill]

I don't know if this was already discussed in the Gripen debates but it seems to me to be an additional rationale for bringing Saab into the fold. Gripen-lite CCAs?

Saab Gripen E jet completes first AI-controlled flight tests

Saab and Helsing test AI agent Centaur in Gripen E fighter during BVR combat scenarios as part of Sweden’s future fighter program.

www.aerotime.aero