https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/news/gallery/usaf-settles-on-support-drone-for-fighter-aircraft-to-be-made-by-general-atomics_6.jpg现代战场上充斥着战斗机和无人机。从情报收集到实战，这两个系列的飞机中的每一个都有特定的角色需要履行，在绝大多数情况下，军用飞机和无人机并没有真正混合在一起。但这种情况在不久的将来会改变。

一段时间以来，世界各国军队一直在研究一种称为协作战斗机（CCA）的概念。至少这是美国空军使用的名称，其他人称这个概念为忠诚的僚机，甚至支持无人机。

CCA是一种无人机的总称，它配备了传感器和武器，可以飞行以支持战斗机和轰炸机，不仅可以协助他们提供情报，还可以帮助他们进行作战行动 - 美国空军称之为力量倍增器。

一般来说，这些无人机的制造和操作成本相对较低，并且必须易于与当前的军事行动相结合。目前有几种设计摆在桌面上，但美国空军似乎已经确定了由国防承包商通用原子公司制造的无人机。

该公司上周宣布，它已被美国空军生命周期管理中心（AFLCMC）选中，以“制造CCA的生产代表飞行测试物品”。

目前尚不清楚无人机的全部细节，但我们知道它们将基于目前正在研究的技术，作为XQ-67A计划的一部分。

XQ-67A是基于国防承包商奎托斯生产的XQ-58A Valkyrie的无人机。我们上一次听说它是在二月份，当时通用原子公司宣布它已经进行了硬件的首飞。随后又进行了两次飞行，无人机没有携带武器，但有大量硬件来帮助它收集数据。

这架无人机与之前的任何东西都不同，“第一种使用通用核心底盘建造和飞行的飞机类型”。这意味着它将适合使用通用平台适应各种角色——例如，汽车行业多年来一直在这样做。

它的能力尚不完全清楚，但我们确实知道奎托斯无人机的能力。这就是 652 英里/小时（1,050 公里/小时）的速度、2,449 英里（3,941 公里）英里的飞行距离，以及携带各种武器的能力，包括联合直接攻击弹药（JDAM）和小直径炸弹。

通用原子公司现在将着手设计、建造和飞行测试新的CCA，但它没有说明我们何时能够目睹第一批原型机的飞行。与此同时，该公司将对MQ-20“复仇者”进行自主和任务系统测试，以加速支援无人机的开发。

现代战场上充斥着战斗机和无人机。从情报收集到实战，这两个系列的飞机中的每一个都有特定的角色需要履行，在绝大多数情况下，军用飞机和无人机并没有真正混合在一起。但这种情况在不久的将来会改变。

原文

USAF Settles on Support Drone for Fighter Aircraft, To Be Made by General Atomics

Published: 29 Apr 2024, 09:33 UTC • By:

Daniel Patrascu

The modern-day battlefields are flooded with fighter jets and drones. Each of the two families of aircraft has a specific role to fulfill, from intelligence gathering to actual combat, and in the vast majority of cases, military aircraft and drones don't really mix. But that will change in the not-so-distant future.

For a while now the militaries of the world have been working on a concept called Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). At least that's the name used by the U.S. Air Force, with others calling the concept loyal wingman and even support drone.

CCA is an umbrella term for a kind of drone packed to the teeth with both sensors and weapons that could fly in support of fighter jets and bombers, not only to assist them with intelligence but also aid them in combat operations – something the USAF calls force multiplier.

As a general rule these drones need to be relatively cheap to make and operate and they must be easy to integrate with current military operations. Several designs are currently on the table, but the USAF seems to have settled on a drone made by defense contractor General Atomics.

The company announced last week it had been selected by the USAF Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) to "build production representative flight test articles of the CCA."

The full details on the drones are not known at the moment, but we do know they will be based on tech currently being researched as part of the XQ-67A program.

The XQ-67A is a drone based on the XQ-58A Valkyrie produced by defense contractor Kratos. We last heard about it back in February, when General Atomics announced it had conducted the maiden flight of the hardware. It was followed by an extra two flights, with the drone packing no weapons, but plenty of hardware to help it gather data.

The drone is meant to be unlike anything before it, "the first aircraft type built and flown using a common core chassis." What that means is it will be suitable for adaption for a variety of roles using a common platform – something the automotive industry, for instance, has been doing for ages.

Its capabilities are not entirely known, but we do know what the Kratos drone is capable of. And that is speeds of 652 mph (1,050 kph), flight distances of 2,449 miles (3,941 km) miles, and the ability to carry an assortment of weapons, including Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and small-diameter bombs.

General Atomics will now move to design, build, and flight test a new CCA, but it does not say when we will be able to witness the first prototypes flying. In parallel the company will run autonomy and mission systems tests on the MQ-20 Avenger to accelerate the development of the support drone.

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