{"id":70973,"date":"2025-05-01T18:33:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T18:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2025\/05\/01\/air-force-starts-ground-testing-anduril-collaborative-combat-aircraft\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:19:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:19:28","slug":"air-force-starts-ground-testing-anduril-collaborative-combat-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2025\/05\/01\/air-force-starts-ground-testing-anduril-collaborative-combat-aircraft\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force starts ground testing Anduril collaborative combat aircraft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force has started ground testing its first Anduril-made semiautonomous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/unmanned\/2024\/04\/24\/here-are-the-two-companies-creating-drone-wingmen-for-the-us-air-force\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/unmanned\/2024\/04\/24\/here-are-the-two-companies-creating-drone-wingmen-for-the-us-air-force\/\">drone wingmen known as collaborative combat aircraft<\/a>, which could be flying within months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Allvin announced the beginning of the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/OfficialCSAF\/status\/1917928762148291010\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/OfficialCSAF\/status\/1917928762148291010\">ground testing phase in a post on X<\/a>, formerly known as Twitter, Thursday morning. It included a video of hangar doors opening dramatically to reveal Anduril Industries\u2019 YFQ-44A, which the company previously referred to as Fury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a huge milestone and another step toward first flight and rapid delivery [of CCAs] to our warfighters,\u201d Allvin said. \u201cThese unmanned fighters are going to be badass!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ground testing is officially underway for our Collaborative Combat Aircraft program! This is a huge milestone and another step toward first flight and rapid delivery to our warfighters&#8230; These unmanned fighters are going to be badass! (1\/3) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HiuWMzmcc7\">pic.twitter.com\/HiuWMzmcc7<\/a><\/p>&mdash; General Ken Wilsbach (@OfficialCSAF) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/OfficialCSAF\/status\/1917928762148291010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 1, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now that ground testing of Anduril\u2019s CCA has begun, the company said in a statement, it expects to start flying the YFQ-44A this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTogether, Anduril and the United States Air Force are pioneering a new generation of semi-autonomous fighter aircraft that will fundamentally transform air combat,\u201d said Jason Levin, Anduril\u2019s senior vice president of air dominance and strike. \u201cYFQ-44A delivers highly capable, mass-producible, and more affordable fighter capability at the speed and scale required to stay ahead of the threat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force also said it wants to locate the first aircraft readiness unit for CCAs at Beale Air Force Base in California. That unit will be in charge of \u201cprovid[ing] combat aircraft ready to deploy worldwide at a moment\u2019s notice,\u201d the service said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force in April 2024 announced it had selected Anduril and General Atomics to design, build and test the first iteration of CCAs, which will fly alongside aircraft such as the F-35 and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2025\/03\/21\/boeing-wins-contract-for-ngad-fighter-jet-dubbed-f-47\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2025\/03\/21\/boeing-wins-contract-for-ngad-fighter-jet-dubbed-f-47\/\">Next Generation Air Dominance fighter<\/a> now known as the F-47. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CCAs will use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/opinion\/2025\/04\/15\/its-time-to-fully-fund-the-air-forces-collaborative-combat-aircraft\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/opinion\/2025\/04\/15\/its-time-to-fully-fund-the-air-forces-collaborative-combat-aircraft\/\">autonomous software to fly themselves<\/a> with minimal direction from the pilots they accompany, and will be able to carry out missions such as airstrikes, intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, or serving as decoys to lure enemies away from crewed aircraft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force has suggested it could have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2023\/03\/08\/us-air-force-eyes-fleet-of-1000-drone-wingmen-as-planning-accelerates\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2023\/03\/08\/us-air-force-eyes-fleet-of-1000-drone-wingmen-as-planning-accelerates\/\">fleet of about 1,000 CCAs<\/a>, and said they will be cheaper than traditional fighters. The service wants them to extend the service\u2019s reach at a time when pilots and advanced fighters are in short supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Allvin also said on social media that the Air Force\u2019s CCA strategy heralds \u201ca new way of acquisition,\u201d that focuses on quickly iterating new designs instead of sustaining existing models for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur new mantra needs to be \u2018built to adapt\u2019 rather than \u2018built to last,\u2019\u201d Allvin said in the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those comments underscore <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2024\/06\/15\/no-30-year-old-drone-wingmen-us-air-force-eyes-regular-cca-overhauls\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2024\/06\/15\/no-30-year-old-drone-wingmen-us-air-force-eyes-regular-cca-overhauls\/\">remarks Allvin made in June 2024<\/a>, in which he said the Air Force wanted to keep CCA missions simple and costs down, so they can be fielded in large numbers and replaced after a decade or so with fresh models. Allvin also suggested CCAs could be modular and heavily adapted with new technologies to keep them relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ground testing of General Atomics\u2019 YFQ-42A has not yet begun. In a statement, the company said, \u201cWe remain on schedule to test and fly YFQ-42 in the coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gambit-AFA.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-119022\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gambit-AFA.jpg.jpg 4032w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gambit-AFA.jpg.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gambit-AFA.jpg.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gambit-AFA.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gambit-AFA.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gambit-AFA.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">General Atomics said it is on track to start testing and flying its collaborative combat aircraft, the YFQ-42A, in the next few months. (Stephen Losey\/Defense News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Allvin said in the Air Force\u2019s statement that the beginning of ground tests for the Anduril CCA \u201cbridges the gap between design and flight\u201d and reduces the risk that comes from integrating a new system. He also said both Anduril and General Atomics are meeting or exceeding key milestones, and innovative design and acquisition strategies are speeding up the process for fielding CCAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re moving fast because the warfighter needs this capability,\u201d Allvin said. \u201cCCA is about delivering decisive advantage in highly contested environments. \u2026 These aircraft will help us turn readiness into operational dominance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An advantage of pilotless CCAs is that they will not have to be flown daily to maintain pilots\u2019 readiness, the Air Force said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That means the readiness unit planned for Beale would be able to keep CCAs in a \u201cfly-ready status\u201d and flown minimally, the service said, which will require a \u201csubstantially lower\u201d number of support airmen such as maintainers than other aircraft require.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force plans to make a decision in fiscal 2026 on which of the two CCA versions to move into production. Also that year, the service expects to start developing the second so-called \u201cincrement\u201d of CCAs, which it hopes will have a broader suite of missions it can be used for and integrate cutting-edge technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The service wants CCAs to fly alongside aircraft like the F-35 and F-47, and autonomously carry out missions like airstrikes, recon and serving as 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By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Air Force starts ground testing Anduril collaborative combat aircraft - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The service wants CCAs to fly alongside aircraft like the F-35 and F-47, and autonomously carry out missions like airstrikes, recon and serving as decoy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Air Force starts ground testing Anduril collaborative combat aircraft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The service wants CCAs to fly alongside aircraft like the F-35 and F-47, and autonomously carry out missions like airstrikes, recon and serving as 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