#CCA

The U.S. Air Force has established a target requirement of 1,509 combat-ready fighter aircraft by 2035 to accept moderate operational risk. This posture reflects strategic trade-offs between force structure capacity, modernization budgets, and rising threat environments in contested theaters.

Congressional reliance on continuing resolutions threatens to stall the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program as it transitions to low-rate initial production. Vendor self-funding offers short-term mitigation, but long-term schedule targets require baseline procurement funding.

The U.S. Air Force evaluated prototype Portable Command and Control Enclaves to manage Collaborative Combat Aircraft from remote ground locations. The capability decentralizes tactical drone control beyond crewed cockpits to support Agile Combat Employment.

The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School has successfully completed two parallel, accelerated test campaigns on the X-62 VISTA aircraft, validating AI-driven sensor-to-vehicle controls and advancing rapid software integration for autonomous air combat systems.

The third increment moves off OTA. That is a signal about program maturity, not funding.