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 Air Force has awarded General Atomics a $99.3 million contract for a stealthy, ultra-long-range surveillance aircraft design to be ready by 2028. The plane, nicknamed "GHOST," would also have a strike mission.
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 ...
The Air Force thinks Collaborative Combat Aircraft can be bought for as little as $1,200 per pound—about a third of the cost of crewed fighters—but mission equipment needs to be aligned to that lower price.
The Air Force will display full-scale models of the two competitors for Increment 1 of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program at next week's AFA Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
The two contractors picked for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 1 may not get half the work, but could get a much larger or smaller share, Air Force officials said at the Life Cycle Industry Days conference.
The Air Force will likely award a contract or contracts for the first increment of Collaborative Combat Aircraft in late September or early October, sources familiar with the program said. It’s not yet been decided if the Air Force will carry one or both of ...
The Air Force released the first video of a new experimental drone in flight. General Atomics’ XQ-67A is intended to prepare the service for its future fleet of autonomous collaborative combat aircraft, and the company has called the drone a “CCA prototype."
The Air Force is already looking past the initial contracts it has awarded for the first autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft and is sketching out plans for the second batch of aircraft, Chief of Staff David W. Allvin said May 7. The approach is intended to ...
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force ...
A contractor died in California last year after walking into the moving propeller of an MQ-9 during ground testing. Air Force investigators blamed a host of factors for the deadly accident, including the victim losing situational awareness while focusing on taking telemetry readings, inadequate training, poor ...