Saab has unveiled a full-scale concept model of an uncrewed combat aircraft, designated A3-001, at the Jubilee Air Show at Malmen Air Base in Linköping. The concept is intended to demonstrate how crewed and uncrewed platforms might operate together within an integrated combat air system for the Swedish Air Force, positioning Saab alongside other manufacturers now developing Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) — semi-autonomous drones designed to fly alongside piloted fighters, sharing sensor and weapons tasks while reducing pilot exposure to risk.
The A3 concept is aimed at high-risk missions including electronic warfare, suppression of enemy air defenses and precision strike in contested airspace. Saab describes it as low-observable, highly autonomous and capable of operating across multiple domains, envisaged as a possible complement to the Gripen fighter and other future crewed platforms.
Saab's head of advanced programs, Peter Nilsson, said the company is working with Sweden to develop technologies for a next-generation combat air system, with plans to fly uncrewed demonstrators with fighter-like characteristics before 2030. The A3 itself is described as Saab's own concept for a system that could follow in the mid-2030s, building on the Gripen and GlobalEye programs, should Sweden choose to proceed.
The announcement follows similar CCA efforts elsewhere: BAE Systems has unveiled its Brontanax concept for the UK, backed by roughly £300 million in government funding and targeting a first flight in 2027, while in the US General Atomics and Anduril have begun flight testing their YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A designs respectively, as the US Air Force works toward fielding more than 150 CCA aircraft.
Source: Aerospace Testing International — read the original article