The United States Air Force (USAF) began weapons integration testing with its collaborative combat drones under the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, following the flight of the YFQ-44A equipped with an inert AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile. This new phase of testing is part of the development process aimed at validating the capability of these unmanned aircraft to operate alongside crewed platforms within the future USAF force architecture.
According to the U.S. Air Force (USAF), the CCA program has entered a testing stage that includes captive-carry evaluations of inert ordnance, with the objective of verifying airworthiness, safety, and system performance. These tests make it possible to confirm the aircraft’s ability to carry external loads, validate structural integrity and aerodynamic behavior, as well as confirm compatibility between the weapons system and the platform before any consideration of employment with live munitions.
“We are following the same detailed approach used in all other aircraft development test programs to validate structural performance, flight characteristics, and safe separation,” stated Air Force Chief of Staff General Ken Wilsbach. The officer added that this procedure “ensures that the CCA can safely integrate inert ordnance prior to future employment,” emphasizing that this is a phase strictly oriented toward technical validation.
The CCA program is conceived to develop relatively low-cost and risk-tolerant aircraft that operate as part of a human-machine team, extending the range, survivability, and effectiveness of crewed aircraft in contested environments. Program authorities emphasized that this stage remains in development and focuses on the safe integration of systems, not on their operational employment, and that throughout the process a human operator maintains authority over any decision related to the release of weapons.
Within the first increment of the program, two designs were selected for development and flight testing: the YFQ-42A from General Atomics, named Dark Merlin, and the YFQ-44A from Anduril, known as Fury. The concept seeks to provide crewed fighters with an unmanned “loyal wingman”-type companion, capable of expanding detection, strike, and protection capabilities in high-threat scenarios.
In parallel, other companies continue to promote their proposals in the field of autonomous combat drones. Northrop Grumman presented its YFQ-48A design, named Talon Blue, previously known as Project Talon, which was described by the USAF as a strong contender for future phases of the CCA program. Although the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A are currently the models formally under development within Increment 1, the eventual participation of other designs in subsequent increments has not yet been officially confirmed.
“CCA is a critical part of a broader integrated system that will give our warfighters a decisive advantage,” Wilsbach noted. The general added that the program aims to provide a network of effects capable of “detecting, striking, and protecting our forces in contested environments,” as the Air Force advances in modernizing its capabilities with a progressive approach and under already established command and legal frameworks.
*Images for illustrative purposes.
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