Streaking across the skies above the Farnborough International Airshow last month, the latest fighter jets wowed the crowds with acrobatic displays. On the ground, the big draws were sleek, pilotless aircraft with menacing names such as Ghost Bat, Ravenstorm, Valkyrie and Fury, developed by established defence groups and new technology‑focused entrants. These are not the disposable drones used in Ukraine and the Middle East but larger, more expensive “collaborative combat aircraft” armed with sophisticated weapons that can operate alongside conventional fighter jets or patrol the skies independently.

Charles Woodburn, chief executive of BAE Systems, said the aircraft could fly alongside fighters or act as sentinel sorties patrolling for incoming drones. Peter Nilsson, a former fighter pilot now heading advanced programmes at Saab, predicts pilots will become mission commanders while the jets themselves will be prized for AI, data‑processing, stealth, speed and firepower. Eliot Pence of Dominion Dynamics describes them as “stealthy enough to live, long‑range enough to stay useful, sensor‑rich enough to understand the battlespace and networked enough to direct lower‑cost assets at multiple altitudes.” Each Boeing F‑47 could cost between $200mn–$300mn, two to three times the price of an F‑35, and high‑end autonomous aircraft are estimated at $20mn–$40mn each, meaning only the US and China can afford fleets of such systems.

That leaves middle powers with a dilemma: continue upgrading today’s jets or form alliances. The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) unites the UK, Italy and Japan, while the collapsed Future Combat Air System (FCAS) alliance involving Dassault, Airbus and Indra Sistemas has prompted French‑led efforts. Éric Trappier of Dassault Aviation warned that delay would leave Europe subject to US‑imposed developments. The sixth‑generation jets under consideration feature greater stealth, longer range and advanced engines, with a Farnborough mock‑up of the GCAP jet dubbed Tempest showing a large delta‑wing body and internal weapons bay.

America’s F‑47 programme, awarded to Boeing, is the centrepiece of the Next Generation Air Dominance initiative aimed at countering China’s build‑up. China is believed to be developing a large sixth‑generation fighter, the J‑36. As alliances shift, companies such as Airbus, Indra, Saab and Leonardo explore new partnerships to share the funding and engineering workload of these complex combat aircraft.