The Aerospace Advantage Collaborative Mission Autonomy: The Key to Next Gen Airpower — Ep. 273
Jan 17, 2026
Ryan Bunge, Vice President at Collins Aerospace, and Steven "Munch" Fino, former Air Force fighter pilot, dive deep into the future of combat airpower with collaborative mission autonomy. They discuss how this innovative technology pairs crewed and uncrewed aircraft for enhanced mission effectiveness. Bunge shares insights on the decade-long development of the Sidekick autonomy product, while Fino emphasizes the importance of pilot training and operational adaptability. They also tackle the impact of new tactics, affordability, and building trust in autonomous systems.
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Autonomy As Trusted Teammate
- Collaborative mission autonomy fuses crewed pilots with autonomous CCAs to achieve effects neither could alone.
- Autonomy must be trusted, pilot-like in behavior, and operate in high-speed, contested environments without burdening the human.
Multiple Agents In One Platform
- Autonomy can house multiple specialized 'pilots' or mission agents and swap between them instantaneously.
- This removes human training rust and lets machines execute optimized tactics for each mission set reliably.
Iterate With DRMs And An Autonomy Dial
- Build autonomy incrementally using bite-sized Design Reference Missions (DRMs) trained to weapon-school levels.
- Provide operators a 'dial' to adjust autonomy level so humans retain control and trust during missions.
