ADEX 2025: KAI sheds light on domestic CCA concepts

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has unveiled its enhanced collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) concept as it aims to meet a future Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) programme for a loyal wingman platform.

The unveiling of two platforms at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2025, held in South Korea from 17 to 24 October, comes amid KAI’s testing of its baseline Adaptable Aerial Platform-150 (AAP-150), which it unveiled at ADEX 2023.

The medium CCA (MUCCA) is intended to have a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 5,420 kg (11,950 lb), while the small unmanned combat aircraft (SUCA) will have an MTOW of 220 kg, said Ryu Seongyeop, a senior research engineer in KAI’s Next Generation Aerial Combat System (NACS) research team, whom Janes spoke to at ADEX 2025 on 20 October.

These two programmes are being developed to enhance the company’s NACS concept, which integrated manned platforms such as the KAI KF-21 fighter and multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The MUCCA is being developed as an attritable and reusable platform with a conceptual capability above that of the US’ CCA Increment 1, according to Ryu. CCA Increment 1 refers to loyal wingmen aircraft being developed as semi-autonomous UAVs designed to fly alongside stealthy manned aircraft. The platforms are designed primarily for air-to-air combat.

However, the MUCCA is also being developed to conduct ground strikes, according to Ryu. The UAV can accommodate modular nose payloads such as infrared search and track (IRST), active electronically scanned array (AESA), or electro-optical targeting system (EOTS), he added.

If the operator “wants to deploy the MUCCA as an anti-air platform, the aircraft can be equipped with an AESA nose payload and air-to-air missiles,” Ryu said. At ADEX 2025, the platform was shown equipped with underwing hardpoints and an internal weapons bay.

Janes