USAF Plans Participation of Early CCA Production Aircraft In Emerald Flag

The U.S. Air Force plans to include early production Collaborative Combat Aircraft in Emerald Flag exercises, accelerating the operational integration of autonomous wingman platforms into combat training scenarios. The decision to use production-representative aircraft rather than purely developmental prototypes in a major exercise marks a significant maturation of the CCA program. Emerald Flag is a large-scale electronic warfare and contested environment exercise, making it a demanding operational test environment for CCA autonomous teaming concepts alongside crewed fighters.