The Air Force announced Thursday one of its prototype collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) — the General Atomics-made YFQ-42A — has taken its first flight.
The flight test took place at an unidentified location in California, the service said. During the flight, the Air Force and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. collected data on how well it flies, its autonomous systems and how its mission systems integrate.
David Alexander, president of General Atomics’ aeronautics division, called the first flight a “great moment” for the company and the Air Force.
“It’s been our collaboration that enabled us to build and fly the YFQ-42A in just over a year,” Alexander said. “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.”
Anduril, which is making another CCA dubbed YFQ-44A, said its first flight will take place soon, and congratulated General Atomics for beginning their flight tests. The Air Force announced both companies had won the first CCA contracts in April 2024, and both companies’ aircraft began ground testing in May.
In its statement Thursday, the Air Force touted the new acquisition strategy that allowed a CCA to start flying within two years of the programs’ launch.
“This milestone showcases what’s possible when innovative acquisition meets motivated industry,” Air Force Sec. Troy Meink said. “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.”
The Air Force is working on creating a fleet of CCAs to act as drone wingmen, flying alongside crewed fifth- and sixth-generation aircraft such as the F-35 and the still-in-the-works F-47, or Next Generation Air Dominance platform.
The service wants a fleet of at least 1,000 CCAs to be able to be adapted to multiple configurations, which would be able to carry out missions such as strikes, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, or serving as decoys to lure enemy fire away from piloted aircraft. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin posted a graphic on social media in May that indicated the first generation of CCAs would have a combat radius of more than 700 nautical miles and stealth capabilities.
The Air Force said its new acquisition approach for CCAs focuses on getting ideas from multiple vendors, reducing risk through competition and using modular open systems architecture to continuously upgrade and refine the drones’ autonomous and mission systems capabilities.
“We’re not just moving fast, we’re learning fast,” Allvin said in the statement. “CCA will help us rethink the battlespace, extend reach, flexibility and lethality in combat operations and optimize warfighter performance through human-machine teaming.”
The Air Force plans to make a decision on which of the two CCA designs to send into production in fiscal 2026.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
