The US Air Force (USAF) has started ground testing the first of its new generation of uncrewed fighter jets.
Two such aircraft are currently in development: the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems YFQ-42A and Anduril’s YFQ-44A. The latter is the first to begin ground trials, using a production representative test vehicle.
“Ground testing is officially underway for our Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme,” said air force chief of staff General David Allvin on 1 May. “This is a huge milestone and another step toward first flight and rapid delivery to our war fighters.”
Ground evaluations will focus on each aircraft’s propulsion systems, avionics, autonomy integration and ground control interfaces, according to the air force. Assessments of those systems will inform final design choices and prepare the uncrewed jets for flight testing.
Anduril says it remains on track to fly the YFQ-44A in the coming months. The USAF confirms the inaugural sortie is scheduled for the North American summer.
Allvin notes that “both vendors are meeting or exceeding key milestones” on the programme, indicating General Atomics is on a similar schedule.
General Atomics president David Alexander confirmed on 1 May that the company is on schedule to “test and fly YFQ-42 in the coming months”.
The USAF’s uncrewed fighter programme is progressing notably faster than traditional manned aircraft development efforts.
The air force formally launched the CCA programme in early 2024 with five competitors. Anduril and General Atomics advanced to the prototyping stage only 12 months ago, in late April 2024.
The service hopes to field an operational variant of the new aircraft in significant quantities before the end of this decade.
Jason Levin, Anduril’s senior vice-president of air dominance and strike, calls the pace of development “unprecedented”.
“YFQ-44A delivers highly capable, mass-producible and more-affordable fighter capability at the speed and scale required to stay ahead of the threat,” says Levin.
The Anduril and General Atomics designs are intended to cost significantly less than modern combat fighters. Lockheed Martin F-35s, Dassault Aviation Rafales, Saab Gripen E/Fs and Boeing F-15EXs cost $80-100 million each.
Boeing’s forthcoming F-47 sixth-generation fighter is expected to cost north of $200 million per example.
While the exact price and capability requirements for the first FQ fighter are still evolving, the USAF and its two competing manufacturers appear to be moving away from an earlier narrative about disposable aircraft and toward designs that are reusable and more capable.
Although both General Atomics and Anduril are seeking to leverage techniques of high-rate industrial production to control costs and boost assembly rates, the price of the first increment of FQ jets is still likely to land at $20-30 million per aircraft.
Both prototypes feature internally stored landing gears in a conventional take-off and landing configuration, and single engines.
While Anduril’s Fury will use a Williams International FJ44 powerplant, General Atomics tells Flight Global its unnamed fighter can accommodate 13 different commercially available engines.
San Diego-based General Atomics plans to display a scale model of its YFQ-42A at the Paris air show in June, while Anduril’s YFQ-44A made its international debut in March at the Avalon air show near Melbourne, Australia.
The air force hopes to award a competitive production contract for the first CCA in fiscal year 2026, which begins in October.
Development of the second increment of uncrewed fighters is also expected to launch sometime in FY2026, expanding the missions assigned to CCAs and equipping them with emerging technologies.
