UK Ministry of Defence confirms Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) becomes Storm Fighter for the RAF

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The UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme will now be officially referred to as Storm Fighter-the name given to a new collaborative combat drone intended to operate alongside the Eurofighter Typhoon, the F-35, and, in the future, the Royal Air Force (RAF) sixth-generation Tempest fighter.

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The announcement was delivered by the Minister of State for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard, during the Global Air and Space Chiefs’ Conference. The move sits within the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which sets out £298 billion of investment over the next four years. Of that total, £31 billion is earmarked for air and space capabilities, while £5 billion will fund advanced drones and other uncrewed systems.

Storm Fighter will expand the RAF’s combat capabilities

Pollard said Storm Fighter will enable the United Kingdom to develop a new generation of autonomous aircraft designed to work in concert with the Eurofighter Typhoon, the F-35, and the future Tempest. The drones are expected to serve both as protective escorts and in offensive roles, improving survivability and boosting the effectiveness of crewed aircraft in high-threat combat environments.

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“Today I am pleased to reveal that our new autonomous combat aircraft programme (CCA) will be called Storm Fighter. Storm Fighter will make the Royal Air Force (RAF) the first sixth-generation air force in Europe”, said Luke Pollard. He added that the programme will also accelerate domestic technological development, strengthen the UK defence industrial base, and create fresh opportunities for exports and co-operation with allied nations.

Programme will include other autonomous platforms

The Royal Air Force later confirmed that Storm Fighter will be only one of the systems planned under the CCA umbrella. The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, said the UK will also develop Storm Chrome, focused on electronic warfare missions, and Storm Fire, a one-way attack drone with an estimated range of 1,000 miles (about 1,600 kilometres).

These efforts draw on experience gained with StormShroud, an autonomous platform brought into RAF service last year. According to the service, the system increases aircrew protection by disrupting enemy radars during air operations. “Our new CCA programme, Storm Fighter, will fundamentally shift the economic balance in our favour by absorbing risk and allowing our crewed platforms to survive far more effectively”, Sir Harv Smyth stated.

Investment underpins the goal of creating Europe’s first sixth-generation air force

The Defence Investment Plan allocates £300 million to kick-start the Storm Fighter programme, with the official schedule calling for the first flight of a technology demonstrator around 2030. However, Sir Harv Smyth has recently said he wants to see a demonstrator flying alongside a Eurofighter Typhoon before that date-potentially as soon as next year.

Pollard stressed that collaborative combat drones are intended to complement-not replace-crewed fighters. The RAF’s longer-term concept is to link the F-35, Eurofighter Typhoon, Tempest, and Storm Fighter into a single, unified operational architecture, strengthening the United Kingdom’s deterrence posture and positioning the Royal Air Force as Europe’s first sixth-generation air force.

Cover image credit: respective owners.

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