Sign In
Search
Air Force

If Industry Reaches Price Point for Unmanned Autonomous Fighter, ‘I’ll Be Asking for It,’ LaPlante Says

Frank Wolfe Frank Wolfe
SHARE:
If Industry Reaches Price Point for Unmanned Autonomous Fighter, ‘I’ll Be Asking for It,’ LaPlante Says
Pictured are DoD acquisition chief William LaPlante, U.S. Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration Frank Calvelli, and deputy Army acquisition chief Young Bang at the NDIA emerging technologies for defense conference on July 7.

While the U.S. Air Force has not disclosed what its leaders are discussing on the future or lack thereof of the manned Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, DoD acquisition chief William LaPlante is opening the door to its replacement by unmanned, autonomous drones. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has estimated the unit cost of the manned NGAD to be several hundred million dollars and the unit cost of accompanying, unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) to be about one-third that…

Subscriber-only content. Please log in below.

Not a subscriber or registered user yet?

Please contact us at clientservices@accessintel.com or call us at 888-707-5814 (Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET.), to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website.

Recommended

Air Force

Air Force Leadership Backs MYPs Beyond F-35 And F-15EX

Air Force

Air Force Eyes Mass Production of FAMM-P While Also Pursuing FAMM-L

Air Force

USAF Establishes EPAWSS “Speedline” At Warner Robins To Accelerate System Fielding

Air Force

Boeing, USAF Conduct Preliminary Design Review of LAM Pylon for B-1B, Company Says

Trending

HASC Approves $1.15 Trillion FY ‘27 NDAA With ‘Right To Repair’ Reform
Air Force Leadership Backs MYPs Beyond F-35 And F-15EX
Lockheed Details Successful Propulsion Demo For PrSM Inc. 4 Design, Flight Test To Begin This Fall
Lockheed Martin Demonstrates Successful Drone Intercept With Sanctum System
DroneShield Awarded $13.8 Million By JIATF-401 For Anti-Drone Systems On Southern Border

Congress Updates

Congress

HASC’s Final FY ‘27 NDAA Expands Systems Eligible For Multi-Years, Includes LTAMDS, IBCS, ARRW

House defense authorizers added a measure to their version of the next defense policy bill that would expand the list of weapons platforms eligible for multi-year contracts, to include the […]

Congress

HASC Bill Would Allow Air Force To Buy More Than 267 F-15EXs

The House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill would allow the Air Force to buy more than 267 F-15EX fighters by Boeing [BA] and would extend the […]

Budget

Defense Bill Tries To Block Foreign Shipbuilding, Adds $1 Billion For Second DDG

The final version of the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) fiscal year 2027 defense authorization bill included two amendments pushed by Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) that restrict procuring Navy warships […]

Congress

Replacement Munitions May Not Be One-for-One; May Include New Weapons Chemistries, Wittman Says

As the Pentagon looks to refill inventories of weapons used in Iran and elsewhere, replacements may not be one for one but instead mark a new portfolio mix, according to […]

The Force Multipliers

Force Multipliers

Michael DiOrio – Dataminr

Force Multipliers

Arne Brinck – Dark Wolf Solutions

Force Multipliers

Jags Kandasamy – Latent AI

Force Multipliers

Force Multipliers – Krista McKendree

Job Feed

Post a Job // Post a Resume