The Air Force is working with Collins Aerospace and Shield AI to develop the software Collaborative Combat Aircraft will use to fly missions alongside manned fighters, the service revealed Feb. 12—and drone-maker General Atomics was quick to announce it has already flown its YFQ-42A aircraft with Collins’ system.
Anduril Industries
A recent Air Force contract to buy up to $50 million worth of small drones from Anduril Industries may soon allow the service’s special operations command to transform its MQ-9 Reapers into drone-launching motherships.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. has flown a second YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, stepping up the pace of testing for the new uncrewed fighter escort. The company also announced “Gambit 6,” a fresh variant in its CCA family meant for air-to-ground missions.
Anduril Industries’ YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft took to the sky Oct. 31, the Air Force announced. The service also confirmed that a production decision on the CCA program is still expected in fiscal 2026, despite the ongoing government shutdown.
Anduril Industries will fly its YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone for the first time soon, and that flight will be semi-autonomous, officials said at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
The Air Force announced the first flight of General Atomics’ YFQ-42A on Aug. 27, a major milestone in the service’s effort to build semi-autonomous drones that can fly alongside manned fighter jets.
As futuristic aviation programs gain priority, the F-35—the only in-production, fifth-generation American fighter—is facing new headwinds. Fresh debate over its challenges and its potential in the coming months will shape its future role in the force.
The F-47: Next Generation Air Dominance Boeing Wins Contest to Build the Next Manned Fighter. By Chris Gordon and John A. Tirpak When President Donald Trump announced March 21 that Boeing would build the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter, he unleashed a...
Lockheed Martin is offering a low-cost air vehicle it calls a flying "truck" that could be a cruise missile or sensor platform, intended to be the "low end" complement to the high-end JASSM/LRASM stealth cruise missiles, and help the Air Force achieve "affordable mass" in ...
This week’s revelation that the Air Force had designated its first uncrewed fighters set the stage for the makers of the two aircraft to talk about the logistics of deploying them to dispersed locations.
The Air Force’s first two collaborative combat aircraft are fighters, the first uncrewed aircraft to carry such a designation, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin unveiled in a keynote address at the AFA Warfare Symposium March 3. General Atomics’ CCA will be ...
Anduril Industries plans to establish its first “Arsenal” factory of the future at a site near Columbus, Ohio. The new factory should employ some 4,000 people and make various autonomous air vehicles and other defense product at an expected high volume.
