Air Force Awards First Production Contracts for Collaborative Combat Aircraft to Anduril and General Atomics

The U.S. Air Force has awarded initial production contracts to Anduril and General Atomics to manufacture collaborative combat aircraft (CCAs) based on their respective prototype designs. Northrop Grumman’s self-funded entry was not selected for this phase.

According to Air Force Col. Timothy Helfrich, the portfolio acquisition executive for fighters and advanced aircraft, the Increment 1 CCA contracts cover three production lots. During a Wednesday briefing, Helfrich declined to specify the number of aircraft per lot or the associated costs.

In a March interview with Defense One, Helfrich noted that the Air Force is exceeding its cost-efficiency goals, aiming for each CCA to cost approximately one-third the price of an F-35 fighter jet. Budget documents for 2027 indicate that the Department of Defense is seeking nearly $1 billion to procure these systems.

The selection concludes a two-year competition to provide the service’s first drone wingmen. However, further competitions are ongoing; three firms are currently vying to build the autonomous software platform, while nine vendors are competing for the program’s second increment (Increment 2).

“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,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink stated. He added that these contracts support the goal of procuring over 150 combat-capable CCAs by the end of the decade.

Both winning firms encountered hurdles during the prototyping phase. General Atomics experienced a crash of its YFQ-42A Dark Merlin in April due to an autopilot error, which paused flight testing for over a month. Anduril faced delays in its first flight due to the development of its semi-autonomous software, eventually launching the YFQ-44A Fury in late October.

“Moving to production on FQ-42A is the result of an extraordinary partnership and many years of investments between General Atomics and the U.S. Air Force,” said General Atomics President David Alexander. “We’ve been preparing for this order, and manufacturing is already well underway.”

Mark Shushnar, Anduril’s vice president for autonomous airpower, noted that the company refined its production processes in parallel with aircraft development to ensure a smooth transition to manufacturing. He highlighted that this marks the first time since the 1970s that a new company has won a fighter aircraft program.

As these aircraft move beyond the prototype stage, the “Y” prefix will be removed from the names of both the Anduril and General Atomics models.

Autonomy Software Contracts

The Air Force also established a baseline six-year contract vehicle for mission-autonomy production, selecting Anduril, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, Shield AI, Northrop Grumman, and RTX Collins as the eligible vendor pool.

Of these, Anduril, Shield AI, and RTX Collins received additional production contracts and will compete to provide the final autonomous software. Following a six-month performance review, a second selection will be made, with a final decision expected by Summer 2027.

“Mission autonomy is the cornerstone of the CCA concept, and leveraging a competitive, multi-vendor environment ensures we capture the latest technology,” Meink said, emphasizing that this approach maintains air superiority by integrating state-of-the-art capabilities.

The software contract utilizes a novel award structure tied directly to warfighter feedback. The Air Force will only pay the full licensing fee if the provided capability aligns with the needs of the troops. This flexible approach allows the Air Force to award licenses to any of the six pool vendors over the next six years.

To ensure interoperability, the service utilized the Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) during tests earlier this year, pairing RTX Collins software with the General Atomics YFQ-42 and Shield AI technology with the Anduril YFQ-44. Compliance with the A-GRA is mandatory, allowing the Air Force to mix and match hardware and software.

“Open systems architecture is critical in modern warfare,” said Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, the Air Force chief of staff. “It allows us to capitalize on the most advanced autonomy solutions to ensure we incorporate the best technology in our weapon systems.”

While nine vendors are currently developing the second iteration of the CCAs, Col. Helfrich provided no updated timeline for the Increment 2 competition, stating that the government continues to refine requirements for the second increment based on lessons learned from Increment 1.

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