The US Air Force announced the two competitors of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program that will continue to be funded, Anduril and General Atomics.
Anduril Industries was founded in 2017 and had Elon Musk’s SpaceX as investors. Its unmanned aircraft is called the Fury.
Best known for reconnaissance and attack drones like the MQ-9, General Atomics carried out the maiden flight of the XQ-67A CCA prototype in February, which will serve as the basis for its aircraft.
More than 1,000 aircraft
The decision left out Boeing, which participated in the dispute and had several unmanned aircraft projects as its trump card.
Despite this, the USAF stated that the excluded companies will continue to participate in a broader pool of suppliers needed for future efforts.
“Just over two years ago, we announced our intention, as part of our Operational Imperatives, to pursue collaborative combat aircraft. Now, following the enactment of the fiscal year 2024 budget, we’re exercising option awards to two companies to construct production representative test articles,” said Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall.
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The CCA program is part of the Next Generation Air Dominance Family of Systems, which includes a manned 6th generation fighter. An initial prototype of this aircraft has already performed a flight at an undisclosed location and date.
Collaborative Combat aircraft, also called loyal wingman, must be operated by manned fighters and will assume the highest risk missions.
According to the Air Force, the decision on the winner of the program will take place during fiscal year 2026. The plan is to produce at least 1,000 CCAs, part of which will be offered to partner countries within the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
“Disappointed”
“While we are disappointed that we won’t be moving forward in this phase of the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, we are undeterred in our commitment to providing next-generation autonomous combat aircraft for U.S. and global military customers,” said the Boeing in a statement.
The company further stated that work will continue on other autonomous aircraft programs such as the MQ-25 Stingray and MQ-28 Ghost Bat, “and a number of proprietary programs we can’t disclose.”
