The U.S. Air Force said on Wednesday that it has awarded uncrewed fighter production contracts to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Anduril for the first part of the service’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. The contracts cover the General Atomics FQ-42A and Anduril FQ-44 semi-autonomous aircraft and were awarded four months ahead of schedule.
“Collaborative Combat Aircraft change how we project power and generate mass in highly contested environments,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said. “Delivering this capability to our warfighters faster ensures our forces maintain the tactical edge required to deter and, if necessary, defeat any adversary.”
The service also selected Anduril, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Collins Aerospace and Shield AI for a six-year mission autonomy software contract pool.
According to General Atomics, the FQ-42A uncrewed fighter completed its first flight in August 2025, about 15 months after the company received its earlier development contract. The company said the aircraft’s modular design is intended to support integration of mission systems and autonomy software.
“This is an exciting day for our company and the nation,” GA-ASI President David R. Alexander said. “Moving to production on FQ-42A is the result of an extraordinary partnership and many years of investments between General Atomics and the U.S. Air Force. We’ve been preparing for this order, and manufacturing is already well underway.”
Anduril said its uncrewed fighter production contract includes an initial group of FQ-44 aircraft for testing, validation and eventual operational fielding. The company said the aircraft began ground testing in April 2025 and first flew in October 2025, following its prototype award in 2024.
The Air Force said it plans to procure more than 150 combat-capable CCA by the end of the decade and eventually field about 1,000 aircraft under the program.
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