SPOILER ALERT: Near the end of the original 1986 “Top Gun” movie, former antagonist turned new lifelong bestie LT Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (the late great Val Kilmer) says to protagonist LT Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, “You can be my wingman anytime,” to witch the ever-cocky Maverick replies, “B.S., you can be mine” and then the two share a macho brotherly embrace.
Well, in the 21st century, the notion of a “loyal wingman” has gone beyond flesh-and-blood fighter pilots and their accompanying sentimentalities and is now entering the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as of move toward 6th-generation fighter-jet technology.
This brings us to the Boeing F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), the United States Air Force’s entry into the 6th Generation race.
The NGAD will have a “loyal wingman,” so that leads us to ask: What will be the cost of these loyal wingmen, what exactly will they do, and how will they help augment the numbers of just 180 or so F-47s expected to be built?
F-47 NGAD and the Drones: The Basic Premise
Whether anybody likes it or not—cue theme music from “The Terminator”—AI and drones are here to stay.
So, as a 6th-Generation fighter, the F-47 is envisioned to harness these technologies in combat.
It will use edge computing for predictive threat modeling, processing sensor data, and recommending tactical decisions faster than a human pilot could manage alone, which will be essential when the F-47 operates as a command node—analogous to the “quarterback in the sky” function of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II 5th Generation stealth fighter—for multiple autonomous wingmen.
This makes for a perfect segue for the F-47 teaming with the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), autonomous drones that fly alongside the crewed fighter as “loyal wingmen.” The USAF envisions each F-47 controlling two or more CCAs that handle sensor coverage, weapons delivery, electronic warfare, or decoy missions.
They would expand the human pilot’s tactical range without incurring the cost or political vulnerability of a second manned aircraft.
NGAD Loyal Wingman Candidates
Two of those prospective CCAs are already in test flight mode: First, there’s the General Atomics YFQ-42A “Dark Merlin,” which made its maiden flight in August 2025—thus achieving the first successful CCA flight for the U.S. Air Force—and followed up by taking the first operational flight with mission autonomy software in February 2026.
Next, the Anduril YFQ-44A “Fury,” which made its own debut on October 31, 2025.
The “Fury” made quite an impression, as it took off, autonomously reached a predefined waypoint, and then executed mission tasks using software modules from Shield AI Hivemind—for this writer, the mere name conjures up the mental image of an unholy alliance of The Borg from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and a giant swarm of robotic killer bees—and Anduril Lattice.
Strength in Numbers: the Force Multiplier Function of the NGAD’s Loyal Wingmen
“Quantity has a quality of its own” is a saying apocryphally attributed to Joseph Stalin but is *correctly* attributed to British aerodynamicist Frederick Lanchester. It’s highly apropos that an aerodynamics specialist coined the proverb, since it now applies to our current aerial technology topic of discussion.
The anonymous admin of War Wings Daily notes in a March 14, 2026 report: “The official goal remains ambitious: at least 1,000 collaborative combat drones. This volume is no small matter… The key point is that the U.S. Air Force is no longer talking about a few dozen units intended for doctrinal testing. It officially aims for at least 1,000 CCA. This target was publicly stated as early as 2023, then reaffirmed in the service’s official communications in 2024.”
Shown is a graphical artist rendering of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Platform. The rendering highlights the Air Force’s sixth generation fighter, the F-47. The NGAD Platform will bring lethal, next-generation technologies to ensure air superiority for the Joint Force in any conflict. (U.S. Air Force graphic)
F-47 Fighter from Boeing. Image Credit: U.S. Air Force Screenshot.
Shown is a graphical artist rendering of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Platform. The rendering highlights the Air Force’s sixth generation fighter, the F-47. The NGAD Platform will bring lethal, next-generation technologies to ensure air superiority for the Joint Force in any conflict. (U.S. Air Force graphic)
Going by the USAF’s previous indications that it’s considering purchasing 185+ F-47s, that would provide a ratio of 5.4 “loyal wingmen” to each F-47.
But What About the Price Tag?
Ah yes, that’s always the bottom line, isn’t it, especially with all those dreadful stories about “cost overruns” in the Pentagon’s acquisition process—described in lurid detail in Hedrick Smith’s bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning 1988 book “The Power Game: How Washington Works”—and the ever-looming specter of the Nunn-McCurdy Act.
Hence the concept of “affordable mass” with the NGAD-CCA tandem, i.e., a combat mass that is more financially sustainable. As the War Wings Daily report elaborates, “In Document R-1 of the 2026 presidential budget, the F-47 line item appears at $2.424 billion in total funding for fiscal year 2026, or approximately €2.23 billion at the current exchange rate, while the Collaborative Combat Aircraft line stands at $789.365 million, or approximately €727 million.
The F-47 thus absorbs significantly more resources from the RDT&E line, but the CCA remains sufficiently funded to become a volume program rather than a mere technological add-on.”
Not truly “cheap” per se, obviously. But the key benefit is cost-effectiveness and the ability to spread risk, i.e., “more bang for the buck.” As a case in point, look at the original “Stealth Bomber,” the Northrop B-2 Spirit. It’s the most expensive airplane ever built, with a unit cost of $2.13 billion.
Yet it has repeatedly proven itself worth its weight in gold via its ability to slip in and out of enemy airspace undetected, deliver its ordnance with incredible accuracy, and bring its crew back home safely, as most dramatically demonstrated during Operation Midnight Hammer.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (with a concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He is also the author of the book “Five Decades of a Fabulous Firearm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beretta 92 Pistol Series,” the second edition of which was recently published.
