What is a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA)?

How it works

Collaborative Combat Aircraft is the U.S. Air Force's name for a class of large, jet-powered drones meant to fly with crewed fighters in contested airspace. A Congressional Research Service (CRS) overview dated November 28, 2025 says the Air Force describes them as potentially equipped for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, electronic warfare, targeting and reconnaissance. According to CRS, the Air Force has said AI-driven software would let the aircraft work with human pilots and follow their direction.

For the first batch, called Increment 1, the Air Force in 2024 chose Anduril and General Atomics to build test aircraft. General Atomics' YFQ-42A prototype first flew on August 27, 2025, according to CRS. It says Anduril announced the first flight of its YFQ-44A that October.

Why it matters

CRS reports that Air Force officials have estimated a CCA might cost roughly one-third as much as a crewed fighter, which could allow larger purchases. Air Force officials told reporters on September 3, 2026 that a CCA would cost $20 million per air vehicle, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported. CRS also lists open questions for Congress. They include how much to rely on autonomy and how to store and transport hundreds of large drones.

Where things stand in 2026

The Air Force said on September 14, 2026 that it entered Increment 1 production in June for 150 aircraft. They are now named the FQ-42 Vengeance and FQ-44 Fury. It said it intends to have 500 combat-ready aircraft by 2032. On September 24 it reported that its first two CCAs, one from each company, had arrived at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. It cited a July AIM-120 live-fire test by the YFQ-44A.

As of late September 2026, Congress had not appropriated fiscal 2027 production money. The budget request includes $996.5 million for production aircraft, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. But Congress had passed only a stopgap measure running through December 11. Anduril officials said work under the FQ-44 production contract could not begin until appropriations pass, Breaking Defense reported on September 15. It added that the service and both companies had declined to disclose how many aircraft the June contracts cover.

A second increment is under development, Breaking Defense reported on October 5. Separately, Northrop Grumman, not chosen for Increment 1, said on October 3 its company-funded YFQ-48A Talon Blue had completed a first fully autonomous flight.