WASHINGTON — The Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program is officially in flight testing, the service announced late Wednesday, a key milestone in the Pentagon’s quest to field drone wingmen.
The first flight was notched by General Atomics’s Aeronautical Systems’s (GA-ASI) YFQ-42A, the Air Force announced, one of two candidates in the running for the current iteration of the CCA program. A separate drone built by Anduril, now dubbed the YFQ-44A, is “on track” and “expected to enter flight testing in the near future,” an Air Force spokesperson said.
“This milestone showcases what’s possible when innovative acquisition meets motivated industry,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in a press release. “In record time, CCA went from concept to flight—proving we can deliver combat capability at speed when we clear barriers and align around the warfighter.”
Along with “vendor-led developmental” work, both the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A are expected to undergo additional trials at Edwards Air Force Base in California, a key hub of the service’s flight testing. “Operational assessments” are also anticipated by the Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, which will refine ways to employ the drones, according to the release.
The Air Force has previously said that Beale Air Force Base in California will host the CCA program’s first “aircraft readiness unit,” which will maintain the drones to ensure they are “fly-ready” and can “deploy worldwide at a moment’s notice.” Both the Anduril and General Atomics candidates entered ground testing earlier this year.
“What a great moment for the U.S. Air Force and for GA-ASI,” GA-ASI President David Alexander said in a company press release. “It’s been our collaboration that enabled us to build and fly the YFQ-42A in just over a year. It’s an incredible achievement and I salute the Air Force for its vision and I salute our development team for delivering yet another historic first for our company.”
Jason Levin, Anduril’s senior vice president of engineering for air dominance and strike, said in a company statement: “Flight test is one of those milestones that you just can’t help but get excited about, no matter where you sit. Congratulations to General Atomics and the U.S. Air Force for kicking off flight testing for YFQ-42A – a major milestone on the path to fielding Increment 1 CCAs by the end of the decade.”
Unveiled by the service as a major multibillion dollar program in the fiscal 2024 budget, the CCA effort aims to initially field as many as 1,000 drones. Anduril and General Atomics were picked for the CCA program’s first “increment” last year, which is expected to focus on air-to-air missions, while a parallel effort is developing the drones’ autonomy. General Atomics’s YFQ-42A is adapted from the company’s XQ-67A developed for the Air Force’s Off-Board Sensing Station program, whereas Anduril’s YFQ-44A derives from the Fury drone the company acquired by buying Blue Force Technologies in 2023.
A second CCA increment was previously expected to launch in FY25, but it’s unclear how plans have changed under the Trump administration, particularly due to a year-long continuing resolution. A top Air Force official recently predicted future drone designs will be on the “low end,” suggesting cheaper, less exquisite designs.
The Air Force has said that outside candidates can still compete for the Increment 1 production decision, raising the possibility of a dark horse contender winning a deal. In its press release Wednesday, the Air Force said that a “competitive” production decision “is expected in fiscal year 2026.”
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Author: Michael Marrow
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