To make this website work, we log user data. By using Shephard's online services, you agree to our Privacy Policy, including cookie policy.

×
Open menu Search
• 
• 
• 

Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) (Increment 1) [USAF]

Last reviewed: 15th May 2025

Snapshot

The USAF's collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) programme aims to acquire a single or family of attritable UAVs with significant autonomous capabilities and the ability to work closely with crewed combat aircraft. These platforms will work alongside sixth-generation fighters; therefore, the programme falls under the USAF's Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.

In January 2024, the USAF awarded contracts to Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman to design aircraft for the first increment of the project. Three months later, in April, Anduril and GA-ASI were selected to advance in the CCA effort and were tasked with producing detailed designs and production representative test aircraft. 

The critical design review was completed in late 2024, with maiden prototype CCA flights planned for 2025. Anduril's and GA-ASI's prototypes were given the mission designations YFQ-44A and YFQ-42A in March 2025.

Between 100 and 150 aircraft are expected to be purchased under Increment 1 of the CCA effort. Shephard estimates this procurement could cost around $4.5 billion, with the entire outlay for the Increment 1 procurement and development valued at $8.9 billion. A further 2,350 could be acquired in Increment 2 of the effort.

Annual expenditure

Export dataExport chart

Annual units funded

Export dataExport chart

Summary

Programme value:
$4.5 billion (Estimated)
Units required:
150 (Actual)
Award year:
2026
Status:
Selected
Type:
Procurement - new
Systems:
Gambit (Series) - Downselected
Fury - Downselected
MQ-28A Ghost Bat - Unsuccessful
Unit cost:
$24.0 million (Estimated)
PGO:
95% ?

Bids and suppliers

Boeing Defence Australia - MQ-28A Ghost Bat - AUSTRALIA

Boeing Defence Australia - MQ-28A Ghost Bat - AUSTRALIA

Unsuccessful

 
Supplier
Equipment Category
Subcategory
System Name
Prime Boeing Defence Australia
Manufacturer:Boeing Defence Australia
Equipment Category:Uncrewed aerial systems
Equipment Category: Military UAS - fixed-wing
System Name:MQ-28A Ghost Bat
-
Manufacturer:-
Equipment Category:C4I systems
Equipment Category: UAS: flight control systems
System Name:TBC
Saab
Manufacturer:Saab
Equipment Category:C4I systems
Equipment Category: UAS: communication systems
System Name:TactiCall ICS
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) - Gambit (Series) - USA

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) - Gambit (Series) - USA

Downselected

 
Supplier
Equipment Category
Subcategory
System Name
Prime General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)
Manufacturer:General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)
Equipment Category:Uncrewed aerial systems
Equipment Category: Military UAS - fixed-wing
System Name:Gambit (Series)
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)
Manufacturer:General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)
Equipment Category:Uncrewed aerial systems
Equipment Category: Military UAS - fixed-wing
System Name:XQ-67A
RTX (Raytheon)
Manufacturer:RTX (Raytheon)
Equipment Category:Missiles and rockets
Equipment Category: Air-to-air missiles
System Name:AIM-120 AMRAAM
-
Manufacturer:-
Equipment Category:C4I systems
Equipment Category: UAS: communication systems
System Name:TBC
-
Manufacturer:-
Equipment Category:C4I systems
Equipment Category: UAS: flight control systems
System Name:TBC
Anduril - Fury - USA

Anduril - Fury - USA

Downselected

 
Supplier
Equipment Category
Subcategory
System Name
Prime Anduril
Manufacturer:Anduril
Equipment Category:Uncrewed aerial systems
Equipment Category: Military UAS - fixed-wing
System Name:Fury
RTX (Raytheon)
Manufacturer:RTX (Raytheon)
Equipment Category:Uncrewed aerial systems
Equipment Category: Air-to-air missiles
System Name:AIM-120 AMRAAM
-
Manufacturer:-
Equipment Category:C4I systems
Equipment Category: UAS: communication systems
System Name:TBC
-
Manufacturer:-
Equipment Category:C4I systems
Equipment Category: UAS: flight control systems
System Name:TBC
Lockheed Martin - TBC - USA

Lockheed Martin - TBC - USA

Unsuccessful

 
Supplier
Equipment Category
Subcategory
System Name
Prime Lockheed Martin
Manufacturer:Lockheed Martin
Equipment Category:Uncrewed aerial systems
Equipment Category: --
System Name:TBC
-
Manufacturer:-
Equipment Category:C4I systems
Equipment Category: UAS: communication systems
System Name:TBC
-
Manufacturer:-
Equipment Category:C4I systems
Equipment Category: UAS: flight control systems
System Name:TBC
Northrop Grumman - Model 437 - USA

Northrop Grumman - Model 437 - USA

Unsuccessful

 
Supplier
Equipment Category
Subcategory
System Name
Prime Northrop Grumman
Manufacturer:Northrop Grumman
Equipment Category:Uncrewed aerial systems
Equipment Category: --
System Name:TBC
Scaled Composites
Manufacturer:Scaled Composites
Equipment Category:Uncrewed aerial systems
Equipment Category: Military UAS - MALE
System Name:Model 437
-
Manufacturer:-
Equipment Category:C4I systems
Equipment Category: UAS: communication systems
System Name:TBC
-
Manufacturer:-
Equipment Category:C4I systems
Equipment Category: UAS: flight control systems
System Name:TBC

Additional Information

Background

Requirements

The programme's requirements are based on the USAF's belief that it requires mass to compete effectively with an adversary in symmetrical warfare. However, due to budgetary restraints, this mass must be cost-effective to obtain and operate. Drones are much cheaper to produce than crewed fighters; therefore, the USAF envisages several UAVs working alongside single-crewed aircraft, such as the future sixth-generation fighter or the F-35.

Each uncrewed platform would host a different mission set, such as the ability to strike targets, conduct ISR, and conduct EW operations. Not only will this grant the squadron operational flexibility, but it would also, according to Secretary of the USAF Frank Kendall, lead to more specialised drone designs and, in theory, lower the overall unit cost, further achieving the USAF's goal of obtaining cost-effective mass.

Quantities: Increment 1 & 2

In April 2024, Kendall stated, during a House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing, that about 100 CCA will be built by 2029. This number was slightly inflated later in the year. David W. Allvin spoke at the Military Reports and Editors Conference in October 2024, stating that the USAF planned to have more than 150 aircraft in service within the next five years. 

The year prior, in March 2023, speaking at the Air and Space Force Association's AFA Warfare Symposium in Colorado, Kendall stated that he and the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen CQ Brown, had told planners to assume the USAF might acquire 1000 CCAs under the logic that two CCAs would be acquired for each of the 200 NGAD platforms and 300 F-35s. However, at the Air & Space Forces Association's (AFA's) Air, Space, and Cyber conference in September 2024, he stated that the USAF was considering increasing the number of drones per crewed aircraft from two to possibly three or five; which would mean up to 2,500 CCA could be acquired through all the Increments of the programme. Increment 2 of the CCA effort is covered in a separate programme entry on Defence Insight.

Selection & Timeline

In addition to stating that preliminary discussions had already occurred, Kendall in 2023 stated that the CCA effort would likely begin in FY2024, with FY2023 funding already in place to "figure out exactly [how the USAF were] going to do this and prepare for the competition", according to Kendall. 

This timeline has been held. In January 2024, the USAF awarded contracts to five companies under the CCA programme. The companies selected were Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics (GA-ASI), Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. As Shephard reported, the contract details largely remained unclear, but it was assumed the suppliers were expected to produce designs for the CCA.

Three months later, in April, the USAF announced that it had selected Anduril and GA-ASI to continue in the programme. The USAF tasked both companies with producing detailed designs and representative test aircraft. As noted by the USAF, the companies not selected, Lockheed Martin, Northrop, and Boeing, will continue to be part of the broader industry partner vendor pool.

In November 2024, Air Force Col. Timothy Helfrich, senior materiel leader for the advanced aircraft division of Air Force Materiel Command, stated that the USAF had finished a "critical design review for both Anduril and General Atomics", with both companies "on track", if not ahead" of a timeline that allows the force to "get operational capability by the end of the decade."

Broadly, as of late 2024, the prototyping phase was expected to see CCA flights in 2025, with drones becoming operational towards the end of the decade. As reported by Shephard, the USAF announced in May 2025 that it had officially begun ground testing the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A prototypes, with companies confirming to Shephard that prototypes were expected to fly in 2025.

In line with the news of the ground testing, the USAF stated that a production decision for Increment 1 was expected by FY2026, with development for Increment 2 beginning the same year.

Autonomy Contracts

In July 2024, the USAF announced it had awarded contracts to five undisclosed vendors for the autonomy system that would control the CCA. Reportedly, the chosen vendors represent a mix of traditional and nontraditional defence companies. The autonomy side of the programme will follow a similar structure to that of drone makers, with a downselection occurring in the future based on performance.

Related Programmes

According to Kendall, preliminary discussions with companies involved in the Skyborg and Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) programmes have already occurred, with the CCA effort falling under the NGAD umbrella. The main programme under this umbrella is the Penetrating Counter Air (PCA), an effort to acquire sixth-generation fighters for the USAF. Interestingly, there have been suggestions from senior USAF personnel that the sixth-generation fighter aircraft could be uncrewed.

Speaking to Nikkei Asia in January 2024, Kendall stated that "at some point", most likely later increments of the effort, Japan would participate in the CCA programme. According to the publication, Japanese participation would be built on an agreement on AI and aerial drones concluded by the Pentagon and Japan's Ministry of Defense in December 2023.

Funding

The USAF's FY2025 Budget Request for Research, Development, Test & Evaluation, published in March 2024, requested $557.1 million in FY2025 for CCA, with $494.9 million, $1.7 billion, $3.0 billion and $3.1 billion requested respectively for FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 and FY2028. The document estimated that $8.9 billion would be spent on the CCA in six years.

However, a year later, following a change of administration, it appears this funding will be increased. The Pentagon passed the year-long continuing resolution (CR) draft spending plan in March 2025, which vowed to increase CCA spending to $711.7 million through the funnelling of funds from seven other programmes, due to the changing priorities of the USAF.

Bids & Suppliers

Anduril

In September 2023, Anduril acquired Blue Force Technologies and, with it, the design for the Fury, which was then pitched as a target drone. At the time of the acquisition, Anduril intended to upgrade the drone and instead pitch it towards this effort or the USMC's similar Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer (PAACK-P) project. 

The pitch paid off. In January 2024, Anduril was one of the five companies selected by the USAF for the CCA. It and GA-ASI were selected three months later to produce a production-representative CCA.

To meet any potential CCA demand, in August 2024, Anduril announced it had raised $1.5 billion and planned to open a new factory dubbed the "Arsenal of Democracy". In March 2025, the USAF announced a mission designation for the company's CCA prototype: YFQ-44A.

Boeing

As highlighted by The War Zone, Kendall specifically mentioned Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat as one potential entrant to the CCA programme despite Boeing's withdrawal from the USAF's Skyborg programme. In early October 2022, the Pentagon confirmed that it had acquired an MQ-28 for research and development purposes in cooperation with the USAF. Due to this level of cooperation with the USAF, perhaps unsurprisingly, in January 2024, Boeing was selected for the CCA programme. However, the company was not selected to continue in April 2024.

GA-ASI

In January 2024, GA-ASI was selected for the CCA and was selected to produce a production-representative drone alongside Anduril in April 2024. GA-ASI confirmed in its April statement that its CCA production representative design is based upon the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS), developed for the programme with the same name. Numerous outlets, such as The War Zone, have reported that the GA-ASI content is likely a member of GA-ASI's Gambit series.

A few months after being selected, GA-ASI began building its first CCA drone, using components made initially for the MQ-9 Reaper to speed up production. Like Anduril, in March 2025, GA-ASI's entrant received a mission designation: YFQ-42A.

Lockheed MartinNorthrop Grumman

Lockheed and Northrop Grumman were also selected for the CCA in January 2024. However, neither was selected in April 2024. Northrop Grumman's subsidiary, Scaled Composites, is developing the Model 437, a drone which could fit the programme's requirements.

Raytheon (RTX)

In September 2024, a Raytheon (RTX) company official confirmed that the company was working with the USAF and the related bidders to integrate the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) onto the first increment of CCA drones.

Methodology

Unit Cost

Kendall has estimated that each CCA would cost the USAF between $25 million and $30 million. If the $30 million gross unit cost is taken, Shephard estimates the drone could have a flyaway unit cost of $24 million.

However, it must be noted that the USN's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme aims for a smaller unit cost of around $15 million. Increment 2 of the USAF's CCA also aims to procure cheaper aircraft.

Quantity Required

In April 2024, Kendall stated, during a House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing, that about 100 CCA will be built by 2029. This number was slightly inflated later in the year. David W. Allvin spoke at the Military Reports and Editors Conference in October 2024, stating that the USAF planned to have more than 150 aircraft in service within the next five years. Based on these comments, Shephard believes 150 CCA will be acquired in Increment 1.

In 2023, Kendall stated that the USAF required 1,000 CCA in total, under the logic that two CCA would be acquired for each of the 200 NGAD platforms and 300 F-35s. However, since then, he has stated that three to five CCA could be acquired per crewed aircraft; on this basis, up to 2,500 CCA could be acquired by the USAF, with 2,350 being acquired in subsequent Increments. 

Programme Value

Shephard forecasts that Increment 1 of the CCA programme could be $4.5 billion based on the forecasted gross cost estimated above and the stated quantity.

This cost is for the procurement of the UAVs alone. As attested by the USAF's FY2025 Budget Request for Research, Development, Test & Evaluation document, discussed above, the force requested $8.9 billion for the programme between FY2025 and FY2029, which covers Increment 1. Even this vast expenditure appears to have increased since the publishing of this document in March 2024, as shown by the CR published by the Pentagon in March 2025.

Programme Years

The critical design review was completed in late 2024, with the first prototype CCA flights expected in 2025, before IOC at the decade's end. Based on the available evidence, Shephard estimates a 2026 Increment 1 contract award date with a forecasted delivery period of 2027 to 2029.

Related Programmes

Skyborg [USA]

Usa • Air Force

Skyborg is a USAF programme to develop a UAS platform that can autonomously support crewed fighter aircraft in formation, replacing crewed wingman fighters. The programme …

Loyal Wingan [Japan]

Japan • Air Force

In the December 2022 Defence Building Program (DBP) and August 2024 FY2025 Budget Request documents, the Japanese MoD expressed an appetite for acquiring loyal wingman UAVs to …

Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [USN]

Usa • Navy

The United States Navy seeks a carrier-capable loyal wingman drone that can operate alongside crewed aircraft. Speaking at Sea Air Space 2024, USN personnel stated …

Latest updates

Field Old Value New Value Date
Quantity Required 1000 150 14/05/2025
Value 15000000000.0 4500000000.0 14/05/2025
Value Confidence modelled estimated 14/05/2025
Unit Cost $12,000,000 $24,000,000 26/03/2025
Value 16140000000.0 15000000000.0 25/04/2024
Unit Cost $13,450,000 $12,000,000 25/04/2024
Contact Stage announced selected 26/01/2024
Award Year 2024 2026 16/05/2023
First Delivery 2025 2026 16/05/2023
Quantity Required 55 1000 08/03/2023
Value 887700000.0 16140000000.0 08/03/2023
Quantity Required None 55 04/10/2022
Value None 887700000.0 04/10/2022
Value Confidence None modelled 04/10/2022
Award Year None 2024 04/10/2022
First Delivery None 2025 04/10/2022
Unit Cost None $13,450,000 04/10/2022