The US Department of the Air Force (DAF) has awarded multiple contracts related to its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme, covering both the development of new air vehicles and the provision of mission autonomy software.
The move forms part of an effort to accelerate the deployment of advanced combat capabilities while allowing for rapid technology updates.
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Under these new arrangements, the Air Force is separating the procurement of physical aircraft hardware from the autonomy software required for its missions.
A statement released by the secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs stated that this strategy is designed to ensure that air crews have access to the latest available platforms and software, with the flexibility for future improvements to technology and capability.
General Atomics and Anduril have been awarded contracts for the engineering, manufacturing development, and production of CCA Increment 1 air vehicles, assigned programme designations FQ-42 and FQ-44, respectively.
The announcement, which comes four months ahead of the original schedule, follows a competition in which these systems were assessed as meeting “rigorous mission requirements” and as being suitable for full-scale manufacturing.
These contracts are expected to support the procurement of over 150 CCA by the end of the decade.
Air Force secretary Troy Meink said: “By moving fast from competitive selection into full-scale manufacturing, we position ourselves to field highly credible and combat-ready semi-autonomous systems to stay ahead of the pacing challenge.
“These contracts reaffirm our confidence in the strategic path forward for the programme to procure over 150 combat capable CCA by the end of the decade.”
In parallel, the Air Force has awarded six-year baseline contracts for mission autonomy software development to Anduril, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Collins Aerospace, and Shield AI.
The agreements create a marketplace involving multiple suppliers, encouraging competition and adaptability as operational needs evolve.
In addition, production options have been awarded to Anduril, RTX Collins Aerospace, and Shield AI to accelerate the availability of operational software, with these companies selected on the basis of their schedule and cost proposals.
These production awards mark the first of two planned six-month competitive phases, culminating in the future selection of a primary mission autonomy provider for CCA Increment 1, expected by summer 2027.
Meink added: “Mission autonomy is the cornerstone of the CCA concept, and leveraging a competitive, multi-vendor environment ensures we capture the latest technology.
“This approach guarantees our Airmen are equipped with state-of-the-art capabilities today but keeps the door open for the breakthroughs necessary to maintain air superiority.”
The Air Force has also introduced a licensing approach linking payment to operational suitability and feedback from personnel, allowing contracts to be awarded to any of the selected vendors over the six-year period as technology advances.
All participants must comply with the government-owned Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA), which underpins the open systems approach and supports integration of software across multiple hardware platforms.
According to the statement, the Air Force plans to deploy around 1,000 combat-capable CCAs, though it did not specify a timeline.
In its fiscal 2026 budget proposal, the US Air Force requested $2.7bn, a $1.7bn increase for the CCA programme.
