Defense tech startup Anduril has achieved a significant milestone, with its prototype for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program successfully completing its first flight.
YFQ-44A Joins the Fray: Second Drone to Reach Flight Testing
The YFQ-44A drone flew „at a California test location” at an undisclosed time today, according to an Air Force press release. This makes it the second drone to enter the flight testing phase of the Air Force’s drone wingman program, following General Atomics’s YFQ-42A, which took its maiden flight in August.
Air Force Lauds Competition and Innovation
“This milestone demonstrates how competition drives innovation and accelerates delivery,” said Air Force Secretary Troy Meink in the release. “These flights are giving us the hard data we need to shape requirements, reduce risk, and ensure the CCA program delivers combat capability on a pace and scale that keeps us ahead of the threat.”
CCA Program: Drones as Force Multipliers
The YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A were selected for the CCA program last year and are expected to augment Air Force aircraft in combat roles, such as carrying additional munitions. A parallel effort is focused on developing the drones’ autonomy, with Shield AI and RTX making significant progress, as Breaking Defense previously reported. The Air Force anticipates awarding a production contract to one or more potential vendors, including outside entrants, for the first round of the CCA program in fiscal year 2026.
Anduril’s Vision: Enhancing Survivability and Lethality
“We designed YFQ-44A for a specific Air Force mission: to enhance survivability, lethality, and mission effectiveness by teaming with crewed fighter aircraft or operating independently,” stated Jason Levin, Anduril’s senior vice president of engineering, air dominance and strike, in an essay released by the company about the drone’s first flight. “Through flight testing, Anduril and the Air Force are developing those collaborative, manned-unmanned teaming concepts and tactics that will inform how we integrate, fight with, and sustain truly autonomous aircraft.”
Testing and Assessment: Preparing for Deployment
In addition to ongoing development work by their respective vendors, both the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A are slated for further trials at Edwards Air Force Base in California, a key hub for Air Force flight testing. The Air Force has also indicated that „operational assessments” are planned by the service’s Experimental Operations Unit at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, where methods for employing the drones will be refined.
Readiness and Deployment: Global Response Capability
Beale Air Force Base in California will serve as the CCA program’s first „aircraft readiness unit,” responsible for maintaining the drones to ensure they are „fly-ready” and capable of „deploying worldwide at a moment’s notice.”
F-22 as Integration Platform, Other Fighters to Follow
The Air Force recently revealed in an unclassified document that it is using the F-22 Raptor as the „threshold platform” for CCA integration, but that other fighters, such as the F-35, F-47, and potentially others in the service’s inventory, could also be paired with drone wingmen.
Shutdown Averted: CCA Program Prioritized
Concerns raised by Anduril Founder Palmer Luckey regarding potential delays to the YFQ-44A’s first flight due to the ongoing government shutdown were allayed when the Air Force announced it was shielding the CCA program from the shutdown’s effects to „avoid any potential delay.”
