In a few weeks, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall will climb into the cockpit of an F-16 that’s been converted for drone flight to see for himself how the AI-controlled plane performs.
“There will be a pilot with me who will just be watching, as I will be, as the autonomous technology works,” Kendall told the Senate Appropriations Committee defense panel members. “Hopefully neither he or I will be needed to fly the airplane.”
It’s just the latest step in a bleeding-edge defense program I’ve been tracking — and profiting from — for years.
The goal of the program is to pair manned fighter jets with swarms of autonomous, AI-enabled drones. These drones will provide reconnaissance, probe enemy defenses, jam communications, identify potential threats and targets, and even go on the offensive, launching their own bombs and missiles to neutralize enemy assets.
And they’ll do it all autonomously, with little or no input from the pilot, who will act more like a quarterback calling plays at the line of scrimmage.
This initiative is officially described by the Pentagon as “Collaborative Combat Aircraft,” but I’ve dubbed it “Project Wingman.”
No matter what you call it, though, the Air Force is set to pour $559 million into the project in FY2025, alone. Join Wealth Daily today for FREE. We’ll keep you on top of all the hottest investment ideas before they hit Wall Street. Become a member today, and get our latest free report: “Guardians of Growth: 3 Defense Contractors for Savvy Investors.”
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And in fact, the Project Wingman program has secured $5.8 billion in funding from 2024–28, with a goal of fielding at least 1,000 of the unmanned autonomous aircraft by the end of the decade.
The investment will be worth it. Especially since, these “loyal wingmen” will only cost a third of what an F-35 currently runs.
It’s also a necessity due to the evolving nature of warfare and the technological advances of near-peer adversaries like Russia and China.
Indeed, Ukraine has shown just how effective small, cheap drones can be when deployed against a larger, better-armed adversary. Other nation states and militant groups (like Iran and its regional proxies) have taken note of this as well.
It’s clear now these smaller and traditionally weaker entities don’t need to compete with America’s stable of aircraft carriers, fifth-generation fighter jets, or billion-dollar battle tanks. They just need to overwhelm targets with swarms of cheap, easy-to-make drones.
China, meanwhile, came to this realization years ago and has established itself as a world leader in drone production. Not only that, but China has also upgraded its defenses to the point that even America’s most advanced weapons platforms could struggle to make a dent.
At this point, sending manned aircraft into contested airspace could result in massive losses both in terms of human warfighters and their hundred-million-dollar jets.
This isn’t the only use for AI on the battlefield, either.
C3.ai (NYSE: AI) makes software that can analyze and model missile trajectories to improve America’s defenses. It also improves aircraft fleet readiness by analyzing flight data, maintenance logs, and user manuals to predict what subsystems on a fighter jet need to be replaced and when.
It does both these things faster than any human ever could, absorbing mountains of data and spitting out actionable conclusions.
The same is true of another AI defense contractor whose software patches together intelligence from satellites, spy planes, and human assets to identify enemy targets.
Both Ukraine and Israel have made this AI a key component of their ongoing wars.
These AI algorithms were all developed by a secret military unit I call the “Shield,” and they carry previously classified names like “Alchemist,” “Gospel,” and “Depth of Wisdom.”
Gospel used AI to generate a high-quality list of potential targets to strike.
As a result, the IDF was able to strike hundreds of terrorist assets — rocket manufacturing, production, and storage sites; military intelligence offices; ships; submersibles; drones; and missile launchers — that were aimed at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Prior to that, Israel spent years identifying possible targets, but with AI they were able to acquire them in real time.
They even identified the personal homes of top commanders, aiding in the elimination of more than 150 terrorist operatives.
One strike was so precise that it killed senior Hamas operative Bassem Issa, who was hiding out in a tunnel beneath a high-rise building surrounded by six schools and a hospital — and it did it without a single civilian casualty.
So when people say AI is the future of warfare, they’re really missing the point. AI is very much the present of warfare, and its role will only expand further from here.
We truly aren’t that far removed from armies of autonomous robots doing our fighting for us.
It’s a scary thought, to be sure, but it’s also a massive profit opportunity that every investor should jump on.
So make sure to check out my full report here if you haven’t already.
Fight on, Jason Simpkins Simpkins is the founder and editor of Secret Stock Files, an investment service that focuses on companies with assets — tangible resources and products that can hold and appreciate in value. He covers mining companies, energy companies, defense contractors, dividend payers, commodities, staples, legacies and more… In 2023 he joined The Wealth Advisory team as a defense market analyst where he reviews and recommends new military and government opportunities that come across his radar, especially those that spin-off healthy, growing income streams. For more on Jason, check out his editor’s page. Be sure to visit our Angel Investment Research channel on YouTube and tune into Jason’s podcasts. Want to hear more from Jason? Sign up to receive emails directly from him ranging from market commentaries to opportunities that he has his eye on. 
