Yes the secret program is hoped to also be sold abroad eventually. But it can't be talked about by LM for some years to come, as per CEO. This drone is something else, a private LM venture, plausibly leveraging CCA competition designs.
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- Thread starter tphuang
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What I don't understand is why are they not moving to turn the F-16 and F-15's they have into loyal wingman? They might be old, but that doesn't really matter for a unmanned aircraft because it doesn't need to fly regularly. In theory, you would just need a handful aircraft for testing and training with manned aircraft. The rest of the fleet can be kept in a flying state so their airframes will not suffer any further wear and tear. On top of that, they have upgraded a lot of the components in these aircraft (AESA radars, EW systems, etc) so despite their airframe age they have very high-end features. Given the versatility of both platforms and the number of weapons they support, you would basically be getting the most capably loyal wingman you can envision for a fraction of the cost.
I suspect the reason is that it's not "cool" enough or profitable enough. Think about it: an old F-16 might be worth $30 million. Refurbishing it requires new R&D and airframe modifications—costs that are too high for a deindustrialized America. Plus, an unmanned F-16 just doesn't sound "cool" enough to spark the interest of the president or those American generals obsessed with dominating the skies.
But we don't even see China doing this? Those J-10 they have would make excellent loyal wingman. Same with every other aircraft they have in service.
China doesn't have much leftover stock from the coldwar and IMO for loyal wingman tasks, non stealth aircraft might be unviable.
China's problem lies on another level: its development pace is simply too rapid. The time intervals between China's third-, fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation fighter jets are simply too short. There are numerous aircraft that have not yet reached retirement age, and at current production rates, the total number of aircraft will soon exceed the Air Force's overall demand. If China were to retain these older aircraft while also converting them all into drones, retrofitting these outdated models would actually waste the Air Force's budget. China does not need so many obsolete aircraft. China is now rapidly streamlining its forces, phasing out older models. The J-10C may soon face retirement, to be replaced entirely by fifth- and sixth-generation fighters alongside unmanned combat aircraft. Otherwise, maintaining too many outdated aircraft types would hinder operational efficiency.
Problem is Russian AL-31 engines for J10A & B.
I have a feeling if Vectis is not the secret program, then the secret program will be some kind of large B-2 sized ISR drone similar to what China is doing.
At this point I don't see any avenue of Aviation tech where China is behind. In most cases, whatever China comes up with, US will be a slow follower with higher cost, lower quality/capability, less ability to mass produce.
China has surpassed the US in Ground Force tech, Air defense tech, rocket force tech, Air force tech. The only remaining area where US is still ahead is naval tech due to Carriers and submarines.