CCA
YFQ-42A Returns to Flight Testing
“We pushed the envelope, identified a risk, learned from the data, and have cleared the YFQ-42A to return to flight. Even when flight testing on the YFQ-42 was temporarily paused, the program was not.”
CCA
CCA
Air Force’s Experimental Ops Unit Flies and Maintains Anduril CCA
Operators used a ruggedized laptop to upload mission plans, start autonomous taxi and takeoff procedures, send new orders to the drone in-flight, and manage data and checks once the flight was done. Anduril’s Menace-T command solution was the main ground element for flight operations
CCA
BAE in Early Talks with Japanese Groups on Drones for Fighter Jets
UK defence champion BAE Systems is exploring opportunities to deepen collaboration with Japanese defence groups, including potential joint development of drones to fly alongside a next-generation fighter jet the two nations are building with Italy.
Accidents
General Atomics CCA Prototype Crashes in California
The YFQ-42A is part of what General Atomics describes as a 'family' of unmanned wingman designs collectively dubbed Gambit. The company is pitching the unmanned aircraft as a centerpiece of its drone wingman strategy, including for foreign competitions like ones in Europe.
Business
Anduril's Arsenal-1 Factory to Open Ahead of Schhedule
Amid cornfields and horse farms 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Columbus, Ohio, the defence tech start-up is expecting its $1 billion Arsenal-1 autonomous systems manufacturing campus to employ more than 4,000 people over the next decade, starting with roughly 250 by the end of this year.
CCA
GA-ASI and USAF Demonstrate Autonomy at USAF Exercise Using IR Sensing for CCA
Government Autonomy Starter Kit and MQ-20 Avenger Used to Support Autonomous Mission Execution and Cooperative Targeting for Future CCA Operations
CCA
Airbus is Adapting Kratos Valkyrie for Control by Eurofighter
The UCCA can service kinetic and non-kinetic mission sets in several roles. For the German Air Force, Airbus and Kratos are initially focusing on a specific role to deliver credible combat air power on time and on target.
AI
CCA’s AI Pilots Step into the Spotlight
Decoupling the airframe from the AI pilot means the Air Force will have not one but two decisions to make as it narrows the field of competitors in Increment 1 later this year. With two aircraft and two pilot systems, there are four possible combinations to choose from.
CCA
Anduril CCA Switches AI Pilots Midflight
The U.S. Air Force has established an Autonomy-Government Reference Architecture - essentially a baseline that separates flight from mission autonomy and gives contractors a common standard so that any mission software can plug and play with any aircraft and its flight software.
CCA
GA-ASI Names CCA as YFQ-42A Dark Merlin
Dark Merlin fits with other Air Force fighter names, such as Raptor (F-22), Eagle (F-15), and Fighting Falcon (F-16), in addition to the now-retired Nighthawk (F-117). The big exceptions: the F-35 Lightning II and the A-10 Thunderbolt II.
CCA
Northrop Grumman Names CCA as YFQ-48A Talon Blue
The CCA program aims to deliver affordable, advanced semi-autonomous aircraft to complement and augment the Air Force's manned fighter fleet, to enhance operational flexibility and combat effectiveness in an increasingly complex and competitive global security environment.
CCA
GA-ASI and USAF Demonstrate Manned-Unmanned Teaming with F-22 and MQ-20
This demonstration highlighted the potential of CCAs to act as force multipliers for manned platforms, enabling collaboration between autonomous systems and human pilots. GA-ASI’s MQ-20 Avenger unmanned jet has served as a surrogate CCA for more than five years.