Unmanned collaborative combat aircraft (U-CCA) systems

Topic description

Objective:

It is an overarching challenge for the EU and EDF Associated Countries to develop a consolidated common perspective on the long-term applications, requirements, solution concepts and technology needs for an advanced EU Unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft (U-CCA) system to support the 5^th and 6^th generation fighter in a highly contested A2/AD environment, also in regards to interoperability with NATO.

U-CCA systems could be conceived as unmanned aerial multirole systems, part of a System of System (SoS), aimed at combined air operations, which are able to act in teaming with lower autonomy levels agents and manned platforms in order to execute tasks in various operational scenarios, while revealing extended survivability capability.

Although development studies have been underway for some time in the main European aeronautical companies, with the financial support of the respective EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries, the added value of this topic lies in the development of a common vision for a U-CCA system and its related high-level requirements.

Specific objective

This topic aims to explore technologies, concepts, products, processes and services related to U-CCA systems in different possible configurations. These U-CCA systems are expected to be combat ready, hence highly manoeuvrable and, depending on the mission assigned, they should also be able to collect multispectral information from large areas, while identifying and countering potential threats in a wide range of missions including, but not limited to, defensive and offensive counter air, anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and suppression/destruction of enemy air defences (SEAD/DEAD), in a highly contested environment.

The U-CCA system should therefore be characterised by a high degree of autonomy and operational effectiveness, a large reconfigurable payload capacity and a flight envelope that allows teaming with fighters, including, but not limited to, with 5^th and 6^th generation, and support to other future aerial platforms in the context of a SoS approach for future combined air operations, including its expendability in specific imputable scenarios.

Proposals must address feasibility studies and preliminary design to explore new/improved concepts, configurations, mission architectures, flight and mission functions, disruptive technologies related to U-CCA systems, and trusted autonomy levels for effective networked operations including manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) in demanding denied/contested environments.

Types of activities

The following table lists the types of activities which are eligible for this topic, and whether they are mandatory or optional (see Article 10(3) EDF Regulation):

Accordingly, the proposals must cover at least the following tasks as part of the mandatory activities:

• Studies:
  • Define potential use cases, scenarios and applications in a wide range of operations, in particular in terms of natural environment, type of targets and air defence capabilities, levels of autonomy, rules of engagement with other cooperative and non-cooperative platforms, allocation of roles, interoperability and cyber protection;
  • Define technical requirements in line with high level operational requirements to be provided by the supporting Member States and EDF Associated Countries;
  • Define U-CCA concepts to be evaluated in view of operational effectiveness against identified metrics;
  • Explore current and foreseen technologies in the EU supply chain with regard to U-CCA and respective technological enablers, and identify roadmaps leading to feasible architectures and configurations through a complete and integrated approach, with a view to:
    • Identify, for each possible U-CCA configuration, a structural concept with assessed and consolidated aerodynamic, stability, controllability, launch and recovery and disassembly characteristics;
    • Identify and analyse advanced flight technologies and navigation concepts, propulsion logics and systems, including smart thermal/energy management and related AI-driven solutions;
    • Increase knowledge on advanced autonomy logics and algorithms (such as those related to autonomous emergency behaviour management system, trusted autonomy, cooperative autonomy, accelerated decision making), with reference to existing autonomy taxonomy, e.g., from NATO;
    • Enhance aircraft flight technology, logics and systems, including smart actuation and related AI-driven solutions;
    • Identify a suitable Open System Architecture for U-CCA;
    • Increase knowledge on advanced systems in terms of sensors, communication systems and effectors, to be evaluated through installation surveys;
    • Define interoperability requirements so as to be operated together with multiple assets including fighter aircraft, motherships and other UAS;
    • Identify the enablers for connectivity with future manned and unmanned combat aircraft (e.g., remote carriers and smart weapons including the cruise missiles) for supporting the more demanding operational scenarios (including sea and ground combat operations in contested and highly contested environments);
    • Carry out parametric studies, for instance, but not limited to, structured MBSE (Model-Based System Engineering) work methodology, to identify the critical parameters and merit criteria that could later be useful to assess the goodness of each configuration;
    • Identify the requirements for the development of integrated training systems to enable the training path and associated assets to mature, in line with the evolution of military pilot training concepts and the highest levels of interoperability between future manned and unmanned aerial platforms;
    • Suggest considerations to Member States and EDF Associated Countries regarding development, procurement, impact on training, basing and/or storage of platforms, spares, raw materials and operations, as well as hybrid warfare;
• Design:
  • Develop a Trusted Autonomy Methods & Validation;
  • Design and implement a digital twin methodology for requirement refinement and validation, concept optimisation and assessment supported by modelling of operational scenarios and reference missions and by simulation tools at mission and system / sub-system levels.

The proposals should also address the design of a preliminary demonstrator of U-CCA to prove the feasibility of the proposed concept.

The proposals should substantiate synergies and complementarities with foreseen, ongoing or completed activities in the field of training systems, notably those described in the call topics EDIDP-ACC-CJTP-2019 related to Combat jet training platforms and EDF-2021-AIR-D-CAC related to European interoperability standard for collaborative air combat.

Functional requirements

Depending on each configuration to be explored, the proposed product and technologies should meet the following functional requirements:

• The U-CCA system should be able to operate in the foreseen future combined air operations as part of a System of Systems, including in joint missions and operations, within a fleet of mixed air systems and platforms, hence able to:
  • Autonomously take-off and land, with means depending on its final configuration;
  • Automatically plan the mission task;
  • Carry a multitude of mission configurable payloads, depending on the mission and role of the U-CCA in the SoS;
  • Execute tasks (based on priorities and high-level control of the C2 and other SoS assets) to perform the mission assigned;
  • Dynamically re-plan the mission to minimise exposure to threats, react to unpredicted events, cope with task changes, replace other unavailable SoS components;
  • Sense, detect, deconflict and engage with collaborative and non-collaborative aerial assets;
  • Autonomously fly in formation, including route following and re-joining with other manned and unmanned SoS components.
• The U-CCA system should include:
  • Flight & Mission Autonomy;
  • Improved survivability allowing to operate in highly contested and spectrum denied scenarios;
  • Cooperative Autonomy – Swarming and MUM-T allowing human to take control in an efficient way, whenever needed, while reaching the overall mission objectives;
  • Connectivity/interoperability management principles to set up secure, resilient, agile communication infrastructure and architecture and to provide connectivity services.

The outcome should contribute to:

• the emergence of a consolidated EU perspective for U-CCA systems in EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries and for the EDTIB;
• reduce dependencies on non-European suppliers by boosting the EDTIB and promoting the development of a European solution;
• more effective multi-role and networked operations, including MUM-T, collaborative operations in spectrum-constrained environments and swarming formation;
• improvement of the degree of autonomy of unmanned systems, while still allowing humans to take control whenever needed;
• increase operational capability by identifying new concepts and options for dispersed basing of U-CCAs;
• the identification of potential “quick-wins” in the context of U-CCA solutions;
• the generation of prerequisites and inputs for the long-term development of future EU/NATO U-CCA perspective, with a view to reduce the fragmentation in EU UAS fleets;
• air combat solutions able to reduce the exposure of risk to humans, with a more precise effectiveness to reduce the collateral effects;
• the interoperability between EU armed forces and with NATO Allies.