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General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.’s Gambit.
AURORA, Colorado—The U.S. Air Force has designated its two Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) prototypes, as the two competitors prepare for first flights.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin announced March 3 that the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. design will be the YFQ-42A, while the Anduril design is the YFQ-44A. Under regulations, the Y means prototype and the F is for fighter, while the Q is uncrewed. It is the first combination of F and Q, Allvin says.
“Maybe just symbolic, but it’s telling the world we’re leaning into a new chapter,” Allvin said in a speech at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air Warfare Symposium here.
It is not yet clear how the Air Force reached the number designations for the prototypes.
The Air Force in April 2024 announced that Anduril and GA-ASI would advance to build prototypes under the CCA Increment One phase. The service plans to field more than 100 of the aircraft to serve as off-board weapons carriers for crewed fighters. The service is still designing the requirements for the following second increment. Eventually, the service plans to field 1,000 of the aircraft.
There will be a competitive production decision for the first increment in fiscal 2026, with full operational capability planned by the end of the decade. Allvin told Aviation Week he wants the first increment to be “far more than a proof of concept” to provide credible operational capability.
Jason Levin, Anduril’s senior vice president of engineering, said in a statement that the company and the Air Force are “pioneering a new generation of semi-autonomous fighter aircraft.”
“It reinforces what we already knew: our CCA is a high-performance aircraft designed specifically for the air superiority mission, acting as a force multiplier for crewed aircraft within the real constraints of cost and time,” he said. “The designation is evidence of the program’s progress, and we continue to work tirelessly to deliver a capability that will expand the United States’ ability to project combat airpower.”
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