USAF's Fighter Drones To Make Debut In A Large Scale Exercise

The U.S. Air Force plans to employ its Collaborative Combat Aircraft prototypes in a large-scale Emerald Flag exercise, giving the uncrewed fighters their first major operationally representative test. The event is expected to examine how the aircraft connect with crewed platforms, command-and-control networks, and other joint assets rather than simply evaluate isolated flight performance. Participation should provide data on autonomy, communications, mission planning, and human-machine teaming, but it remains an experimentation milestone and does not mean the aircraft have reached operational service or completed acquisition testing.