U.S. Air Force Prepares To Put Its CCAs To The Test

The US Air Force is moving its two Collaborative Combat Aircraft prototypes, General Atomics' YFQ-42A and Anduril's YFQ-44A, into increasingly operational tests at Creech Air Force Base and exercises such as Emerald Flag. Evaluation will examine autonomous behavior, mission execution, and teaming with crewed aircraft rather than only basic flight performance. Anduril has also reported an AIM-120 firing from its demonstrator, but both designs remain developmental competitors and neither has yet become an operational squadron aircraft. Test results will inform later selection and production decisions as the service builds a scalable human-machine combat formation.