The Air Force received its first two Collaborative Combat Aircraft at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, marking a significant step toward integrating uncrewed, semi-autonomous aircraft into future combat operations.
Anduril delivered the first CCA, the YFQ-44A, to the Experimental Operations Unit last month, and General Atomics delivered the YFQ-42A last week. The aircraft will support Air Combat Command-led operational experimentation to refine how CCA will be employed alongside crewed aircraft in contested environments.
"Putting CCA in the hands of Airmen is how we build the operational future of this program," said Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink. "Anduril's Fury and General Atomics' Vengeance deliveries show we can move at incredible speed, compete, and deliver cost-effective combat power to the force."
The arrival of the aircraft at Creech builds on the Air Force's accelerated approach to CCA development, which emphasizes competition, speed and early operator involvement. Recent milestones include Anduril's YFQ-44A AIM-120 live-fire test and the second Agile Combat Employment Exercise, both occurring in July. This acquisition approach enables the Air Force to evaluate aircraft performance and employment concepts while informing the training, sustainment, manpower and infrastructure needed to field the capability at scale.
"We're thrilled to welcome Fury and Vengeance to the experimental operational unit," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach. "Our Airmen are excited to see what Collaborative Combat Aircraft can do."
Airmen assigned to the EOU have already begun evaluating CCA operations in representative conditions, designed to assess how smaller teams can generate sorties from distributed and austere locations. The effort will help determine how CCA can extend the reach, flexibility and survivability of the Combat Air Forces while operating as part of a broader human-machine team.
The CCA program is part of a broader Department of the Air Force effort to deliver affordable, adaptable and combat-ready capability at speed. Operational experimentation at Creech will continue to inform how future units organize, train, equip and employ CCA in support of air superiority and other combat missions.
