Praise for Drones Meets a Hard Budget Question
The U.S. Air Force is speaking more openly than before about the operational value of unmanned aircraft, but Congress is pressing an obvious follow-up: if drones are so central to modern warfare, why does the money still flow so heavily toward crewed fighters? That tension was on display when Air Force leaders told lawmakers that the MQ-9 Reaper was the workhorse, and perhaps the “most valuable player,” in Operation Epic Fury.
According to the supplied source text, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said no other platform was close to the MQ-9 in the campaign, highlighting strikes that reduced risk to pilots. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink similarly told the House Armed Services Committee that unmanned aircraft will play an increasingly important role in the future “across the board.” When asked whether manned and unmanned systems together represent the future of the Air Force, Meink answered yes.
The Budget Gap
The problem, as lawmakers quickly pointed out, is that the budget does not yet fully reflect that rhetoric. Rep. John Garamendi argued that the Air Force’s spending priorities remain much more heavily weighted toward crewed platforms, citing far larger sums for the F-35 and the F-47 than for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCA. He asked the service to explain how quickly it plans to scale CCA procurement and integrate the aircraft into the broader force.
The source text says the fiscal 2027 request marks the first funding to buy CCAs, with $996.5 million for procurement and about $1.37 billion for research and development. That is a substantial commitment and the largest new addition to the Air Force’s aircraft procurement account, but it is still much smaller than the investment directed toward the crewed sixth-generation F-47 and ongoing F-35 purchases.
Why the MQ-9 Debate Matters
The MQ-9’s strong performance in Epic Fury sharpens the contradiction because the system is not a future concept. It is a current operational asset that has repeatedly demonstrated value. If unmanned aircraft can deliver strike capability while reducing pilot risk, they create a strong argument for shifting more resources toward scalable autonomous or remotely piloted fleets.
But the source also notes a major limitation: vulnerability. The Reaper fleet has fallen to roughly 135 aircraft after 24 losses in Epic Fury, leaving it well below the Air Force’s long-standing 189-aircraft floor. Those losses were part of a broader toll of 42 U.S. aircraft lost or damaged in the campaign, according to a Congressional Research Service report cited in the article.
That detail is essential because it explains why the future of unmanned airpower may not simply be “more MQ-9s.” The Reaper has proven its usefulness, but it has also shown its exposure to modern air defenses. The lesson for the Air Force is therefore more demanding: it must preserve the advantages of unmanned systems while fielding aircraft better suited to contested environments.
The Transition to Collaborative Combat Aircraft
This is where CCAs enter the story. The service aims to field more than 150 of them by the end of the Future Years Defense Program. In theory, those aircraft could give the Air Force a bridge between today’s remotely piloted operations and a more distributed force in which crewed fighters fly with autonomous or semi-autonomous teammates.
That concept has become central to U.S. airpower planning. Yet Congress is right to focus on whether the numbers are moving fast enough. If recent combat experience is telling the service that unmanned systems matter more and more, then procurement plans must show how those systems become real force structure rather than a perpetual next step.
Doctrine Is Converging Faster Than Spending
The most important takeaway from the hearing is that the doctrinal debate is largely over. Senior Air Force leaders now speak plainly about the centrality of unmanned systems. The remaining fight is budgetary and industrial. How quickly can the service scale new platforms, replace vulnerable legacy drones, and build a force where crewed and uncrewed aircraft are genuinely integrated rather than rhetorically paired?
Epic Fury gave the Air Force evidence that unmanned systems can be decisive. It also gave Congress ammunition to demand a closer match between battlefield lessons and budget choices. That scrutiny is likely to intensify. In modern air warfare, drones are no longer auxiliary assets waiting for their moment. They have had their moment. The question now is whether the institution is willing to buy the future it says it believes in.
This article is based on reporting by Defense News. Read the original article.
Originally published on defensenews.com
