The U.S. Air Force and Anduril have offered what appears to be the first look at a “production representative” example of the YFQ-44A drone, also known as Fury. General Atomics has also released a new image of its YFQ-42A, but it is unclear if it shows a prototype that is intended to fly. Both drones are being developed under Increment 1 of the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program.
The Air Force announced today that it has kicked off ground testing of the Increment 1 CCA designs, both of which are expected to fly later this year. The service has also announced that Beale Air Force Base in California is set to be home to the initial CCA Aircraft Readiness Unit.
Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force Gen. David Allvin had said on social media on Tuesday that a major announcement regarding the CCA program was imminent. The Air Force selected General Atomics and Anduril to produce flying prototypes of their respective Increment 1 CCA designs last year. The service announced the new ‘fighter drone’ FQ designations for the two uncrewed aircraft in March.
“Ground testing is officially underway for our Collaborative Combat Aircraft program! This is a huge milestone and another step toward first flight and rapid delivery to our warfighters,” Allvin declared in a post on X today. “These unmanned fighters are going to be badass!”
“Starting ground tests is a key milestone for the CCA Increment 1 program,” Allvin also said in a statement accompanying an Air Force release regarding today’s CCA news. “This phase bridges the gap between design and flight, reducing integration risks, boosting confidence, and laying the groundwork for a successful first flight and eventual fielding to the warfighter.”
The CCA “ground test phase includes rigorous evaluations of the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A production representative test vehicles – developed by General Atomics and Anduril, respectively – focusing on propulsion systems, avionics, autonomy integration, and ground control interfaces,” the release adds. “These assessments will validate performance, inform future design decisions, and prepare the systems for flight testing later this year.”
Only models and renderings of the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A have previously been shown publicly. The first look at the production-representative YFQ-44A prototype today is particularly interesting.
The test drone notably has what appears to be a forward-facing camera system of some kind on top of the nose, which has not previously been seen in renderings and on mock-ups of the design. Anduril told TWZ today that it could not currently provide further details about the drone’s mission systems, but a nose-mounted camera would at least help provide visual inputs for control and additional situational awareness during initial testing. The production aircraft will be semi-autonomous (near autonomous), where no human flies the aircraft remotely in a traditional sense. The YFQ-44A also has a flight-test data probe installed at the front of the nose, which is a common feature on aircraft about to make their first flight and during critical parts of flight testing.
The YFQ-44A could possibly accommodate an infrared search and track (IRST) sensor in the same position on top of its nose. Anduril did unveil a family of passive infrared sensors called Iris last year. Iris sensors are primarily intended for use on crewed and uncrewed aircraft, and could be used as part of missile warning or targeting systems, according to the company. It’s also worth noting that an IRST sensor has previously appeared in a similar position on one of Australia’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat drones. Passive sensing capabilities, including IRSTs, are expected to be a key feature of future CCAs, and the Air Force has been testing these capabilities on other drones as part of broader work tied to the program.
We also have a new look at the YFQ-44A’s air intake, which has a more pronounced angular shape than we have seen before. The design has something of an ‘underbite’ and looks to have some low-observable (stealthy) features, possibly including a forward rake.
We now have a clear look at the drone’s tricycle landing gear and bays, with the nose gear bay door having a clear trapezoidal shape associated with stealthy designs. A row of what looks to be conformal antennas, as well as an auxiliary air intake, are prominently seen on top of the fuselage, as well. There is at least one additional small air intake, as well as an open section behind a screen, on the sides of the nose.
Anduril’s design, also known as Fury, traces its origins back to the late 2010s and a company called Blue Force Technologies. In 2023, Anduril acquired Blue Force Technologies. You can learn more about how Fury came to be in this past highly in-depth TWZ feature.
“Today, just one year after Anduril was selected to produce production-representative prototypes for the CCA program, the Air Force announced that Anduril’s YFQ-44A has begun ground testing,” Dr. Jason Levin, senior vice president of Air Dominance & Strike at Anduril, said in a statement. “We are on schedule to fly YFQ-44A this summer.”
“Together, Anduril and the United States Air Force are pioneering a new generation of semi-autonomous fighter aircraft that will fundamentally transform air combat. YFQ-44A delivers highly capable, mass-producible, and more affordable fighter capability at the speed and scale required to stay ahead of the threat,” Levin added. “Building trust is fundamental to any first-in-class capability. By delivering YFQ-44A at unprecedented speed, we are ensuring that warfighters have ample opportunity to experiment and build the trust required to support operational fielding of CCAs before the end of the decade.”
General Atomics has also released a new image of its YFQ-42A, seen below, but it largely reflects views of the design that the company offered in the past. There may be a new fairing seen underneath the nose. The design leverages work the company has already done with the XQ-67A, an uncrewed aircraft that is flying now and was originally developed for the Air Force’s Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) program. TWZ was first to report on the XQ-67A, and you can read more about how that drone is otherwise feeding into the Air Force’s CCA developments here.
“The CCA program represents a groundbreaking new era in combat aviation, and we remain on schedule to test and fly YFQ-42 in the coming months,” David R. Alexander, president of General Atomics’ Aeronautical Systems, Inc. division, said in a statement. “Over the past three decades, GA-ASI has pioneered more than two dozen different unmanned aircraft types for the U.S. and its allies, including multiple unmanned combat jets flying today, and logged nearly 9 million total flight hours. Our work on YFQ-42 will further expand the field of unmanned aviation, and we remain excited for the future.”
Alexander noted that his company will be showing a full-scale YFQ-42A model at an upcoming community event at Beale Air Force Base, further highlighting the basing decision also announced today.
“Demonstrating further progress toward operationalizing CCA capabilities, the DAF [Department of the Air Force] has selected Beale Air Force Base, California, as the preferred location to host a CCA Aircraft Readiness Unit (ARU). The mission of the ARU is to provide combat aircraft ready to deploy worldwide at a moment’s notice,” according to the Air Force’s release today. “CCA are semi-autonomous in nature so the ARU will not have to fly a significant number of daily sorties to maintain readiness. The aircraft will be maintained in a fly-ready status and flown minimally so the number of airmen required to support the fleet will be substantially lower than other weapons systems.”
Beale currently serves as the main hub for the Air Force’s U-2S Dragon Lady spy plane fleet, which the Air Force is looking to retire as early as next year, barring Congressional intervention. Prior to 2022, the base was also home to the bulk of the service’s RQ-4 Global Hawk drones. In recent years, it has also been tied to advanced uncrewed aviation developments relating to a highly secretive, very stealthy, and high-flying drone commonly referred to as the RQ-180, though the current status of that program is unclear.
The ARU basing announcement is especially significant given the major questions the Air Force, as well as the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy, still have to answer regarding how future CCAs will be integrated into their broader force structures, as well as operated and sustained on the most basic levels, let alone how they might be utilized in actual combat. TWZ highlighted all of this just yesterday after Marine Corps Col. Derek Brannon talked about how just flying CCAs and crewed aircraft in close proximity without them colliding remains a major challenge. Brannon is currently head of the Cunningham Group, a Marine Corps organization charged with plotting out the service’s overarching future aviation vision.
The Air Force has already established an Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada to help in the development and refining of CCA concepts of operations and associated tactics, techniques, and procedures. The service has also been using various crewed and uncrewed aircraft for years now as CCA surrogates.
“A competitive Increment 1 production decision is expected in fiscal year 2026,” the Air Force said today, but questions do remain about the service’s CCA acquisition plans. Air Force officials have said in the past that they could buy between 100 and 150 Increment 1 CCAs, at least. The service also plans to acquire additional CCAs through further increments. What are expected to be significantly different requirements for Increment 2 are now being finalized.
“We’re moving fast because the warfighter needs this capability,” Allvin said today. “CCA is about delivering decisive advantage in highly contested environments. The program is accelerating fielding through innovative design and acquisition strategies – and both vendors are meeting or exceeding key milestones. These aircraft will help us turn readiness into operational dominance.”
The Increment 1 CCA design is now one step closer to actually taking to skies.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com