On August 29, 2024, Scaled Composites (a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman ) drew the attention of many when it revealed it had successfully first flown its new advanced Model 437. Only this autonomous vehicle had a cockpit and a pilot. The remarkable success, affordability, and rapid development of autonomous drones coupled with the United States Air Force apparently having second thoughts about the sixth-generation NGAD fighter , raises questions about whether the F-35 will be the US Air Force's last manned fighter jet .
Why build optionally manned aircraft It's becoming increasingly obvious that a major part of future US air power will be Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) (also known as loyal wingman drones). The Air Force plans to purchase around 1,000 CCAs and have two autonomous aircraft with each manned fighter. This program is showing so much promise that it may be part of the reason why the Air Force is seemingly getting cold feet on the massively expensive manned component of the NGAD sixth-generation fighter program.
However, the line between manned and unmanned systems is being increasingly blurred. Not only is the Air Force demonstrating (through the VEMON and other projects) that combat-coded F-16s can be competitively flown autonomously, but sixth-generation platforms like the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider and the Temptest/GCAP are also planned to be optionally manned . The Model 437 Vanguard advanced autonomous combat aircraft can be flown autonomously or with .