Air Force designates CCA drones as first unmanned fighter aircraft 

AURORA, Colo. — The Air Force has officially given aircraft designations for its first two Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) prototypes ahead of the platforms’ first flights scheduled for this summer, according to the service’s top official. 

Increment 1 CCA drones under development by General Atomics and Anduril will be referred to as YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, respectively. While the “Y” refers to the platforms’ status as prototype vehicles and will be dropped once they move into production, the “FQ” designates the CCA drones as unmanned autonomous fighter aircraft — the first platform to be assigned such a designation, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said.

“For the first time in our history, we have a fighter designation in the YFQ-42 Alpha and the YFQ-44 Alpha,” Allvin said Monday during a keynote speech at the annual AFA Warfare Symposium. “Maybe [it’s] just symbolic, but it’s telling the world that we are leaning into a new chapter of aerial warfare.”

The CCA drones are part of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) family of systems and are expected to be able to conduct multiple types of missions, from offensive strike to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The Air Force wants to field the CCA systems in increments, and is planning to field Increment 1 before the end of the decade.

General Atomics and Anduril each received contracts in 2024 for Increment 1 of the program — an effort intended to develop uncrewed platforms able to fly alongside the Air Force’s fifth- and sixth-generation manned aircraft to augment the service’s capabilities. After completing critical design review in November, both vendors are in the process of building their respective prototypes and preparing for first flight tests this year.

“We have two prototypes of Collaborative Combat Aircraft that were on paper less than a couple years ago,” Allvin said. “They’re going to be ready to fly this summer.”

In a statement, Anduril Senior Vice President of Engineering Jason Levin echoed Allvin’s position that the CCA designations underscored a new era of unmanned military aircraft. The company is currently in the fabrication and testing process for its Increment 1 prototype — dubbed Fury — ahead of first flight this year.

“The designation is evidence of the program’s progress, and we continue to work tirelessly to deliver a capability that will expand the United States’ ability to project combat airpower,” Levin said in a statement.

At the same time, General Atomics is proposing a variant from its Gambit family of drones for CCA Increment 1. Much of the company’s previous work with the Air Force Research Laboratory to build an X-plane known as the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station has been carried over to develop its CCA prototype. 

“These aircraft represent an unrivaled history of capable, dependable uncrewed platforms that meet the needs of America’s warfighters and point the way to a significant new era for airpower,” GA-ASI President David Alexander said in a statement. 

While the Air Force remains confident in the CCA program’s progress, the fate of the service’s manned sixth-generation fighter remains in limbo. After pausing the selection process for the NGAD platform last year, then-Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall announced in December that the service would defer any final decisions on the program’s fate to the Trump administration.