Scaling for diverse fleet needs: How many CCA will be acquired per crewed aircraft?
The nEUROn is an experimental UCAV developed by a collection of manufacturers. The successor to the UAV was shown at Paris Air Show 2025. (Photo: Dassault Aviation)
There is currently no industry standard in the ratio of uncrewed to crewed aircraft. Because collaborative combat aircraft vary widely in capability and crewed-uncrewed teaming availability, while country-specific requirements vary, it is unlikely that a single CCA configuration will meet all operational needs.
Medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) are a cost-effective, lower-human risk drone designed to operate alongside crewed aircraft in formations, but formation size can vary depending on the specific requirement.
According to Shephard Defence Insight’s Special Report: Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), a key question that CCA buyers face, of which suppliers must be mindful, is how many uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) or uncrewed combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) will be acquired per crewed aircraft.
For example, Dassault announced the development of a Stealth UCAV, a successor to the nEUROn, at the Paris Air Show 2025. In images shown at the
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