Last Thursday, May 1, the U.S. Air Force reported that its new Collaborative Combat Aircraft drones, the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, began their ground testing and evaluation phase, marking an important milestone for the developments by the companies General Atomics and Anduril, respectively. According to the official report, the platforms face an extensive testing period in which the performance of their engines, avionics, autonomy, and ground control interfaces will be verified. If these tests are passed, they will allow progress toward test flights by the end of the year.
Referring to this, General David W. Allvin, who serves as Chief of Staff of the Air Force, stated: “The beginning of ground testing is a key milestone for the CCA (Editor’s note: Collaborative Combat Aircraft) Increment 1 program. This phase bridges the gap between design and flight, reducing integration risks, boosting confidence, and laying the groundwork for a successful first flight and eventual deployment to the warfighter (…) CCA seeks to generate a decisive advantage in highly contested environments. The program is accelerating its deployment through innovative design and acquisition strategies, and both vendors are meeting or exceeding key milestones.”
Going into more detail, the U.S. Air Force also reported that Beale Air Force Base, in the state of California, will be the one to receive the first CCA Aircraft Readiness Unit, with the mission of keeping aircraft ready for immediate deployment anywhere in the world. Moreover, considering that these are semi-autonomous platforms, it is expected that fewer units will be required and with a lower number of daily sorties to ensure the fulfillment of this objective.
It is also interesting to highlight the selection of the aforementioned Beale Air Force Base, taking into account that it has been home to most of the RQ-4 Global Hawk drones belonging to the force, as well as the U-2S Dragon Lady spy planes. In addition, U.S. defense media consider it closely linked to the development of a new advanced drone that is kept secret, known as the RQ-180; however, the current status of that program remains unknown.
Finally, it is worth noting that the institution is already considering plans to upgrade these platforms once their incorporation into service is decided, taking advantage of their flexible architecture to integrate new commercial technologies. On this matter, the possibility has even been raised that, for the fiscal year 2026, proposals could be selected for the production and integration of such elements, while at the same time work will begin on the development of what is called Increment 2.
*Image credits: U.S. Air Force
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