US Air Force Targets 1,000 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by 2032

The US Air Force aims to add at least 500 semi-autonomous Cooperative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) to the inventory by 2032.

The United States is preparing to expand its future air power largely with unmanned systems.

In his statement at the Air, Space & Cyber ​​Conference held on September 14, US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announced that they plan to have 500 combat-ready and semi-autonomous CCA systems by 2032. The total target was determined as approximately 1,000 CCAs.

The main purpose of these platforms is to increase the range, situational awareness and survivability of the US air force by operating alongside manned warplanes.

Two different planes are racing

In the first phase of the CCA program, two different designs stand out.

FQ-42 Vengeance, developed by General Atomics, and FQ-44 Fury, developed by Anduril, are the platforms that entered production within the scope of Increment 1 of the program. The U.S. Air Force began an initial production run for a total of 150 aircraft for the two designs in June.

The official names of the platforms were also announced on September 14.

Unlike traditional warplanes, CCAs are planned to not carry a manned pilot and perform semi-autonomous missions.

FQ-44 Fury fired missile

The CCA program is no longer just in the prototype flight phase.

The US Air Force conducted a live-fire test of the YFQ-44A with the AIM-120 missile in July 2026. In the test, the missile was used against a digital target and the platform's integration with the weapon system was evaluated.

This development is seen as an important stage in the process of preparing the USA's unmanned warplanes for real combat missions.

It will work together with manned warplanes

The basis of the CCA concept is that manned and unmanned aircraft operate together.

It is aimed to use unmanned platforms in missions such as reconnaissance, target detection, electronic warfare and armed attack by operating in front of or next to manned warplanes.

It is also planned to adapt mission software to different aircraft, thanks to the system based on open architecture. The US Air Force aims to integrate new capabilities faster by separating hardware and software as much as possible.

500 more unmanned aircraft in addition to 500 CCAs

The USA's 2032 target does not consist only of CCAs.

The Air Force also plans to use 500 Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA) class lower-cost unmanned aircraft during the same period. It is stated that these platforms can be used in reconnaissance and attack missions.

Thus, the USA's plan for 2032 reveals a structure consisting of at least 1,000 new unmanned aerial vehicles in the CCA and MMA categories.

This approach aims to scale air power with a larger number of unmanned platforms, rather than increasing the number of expensive manned combat aircraft alone.

The nature of US air power is changing

Washington's plan is based on supporting them with multiple autonomous or semi-autonomous platforms in future air wars, rather than relying solely on manned fighter jets such as the F-35 and F-22.

The US Air Force expects the structure that will emerge in 2032 to be significantly different from today's air force. CCAs are intended to reduce the risk of manned aircraft, especially in contested airspace, and enable missions to be carried out on more targets at the same time.