The vice chairman’s remarks reflected the Rumsfeld Pentagon’s well-known antipathy for tactical fighters and enthusiasm for long-range systems, especially if the latter don’t require onboard pilots. A big thrust of the QDR, he said, entails “orienting joint air capabilities to favor increased range and persistence, larger and more flexible payloads for surveillance or strike, and the ability to penetrate and sustain operations in denied areas.” All of those words add up to unmanned combat air systems. This mindset is one reason that the F-22 and F-35 fighters have hit such headwinds in the Pentagon.
General Atomics, the maker of one of the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has ambitious plans for its family of semi-autonomous drones beyond the FQ-42, including a flying-wing aircraft capable of carrying out both reconnaissance and strike missions. Meanwhile, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced a new program to…