The United States Air Force has officially lifted the curtain on the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A — the first generation of purpose-built, jet-powered, uncrewed fighter aircraft designed to fight alongside and beyond human-piloted jets.
General David Allvin, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, took to social media to announce the public unveiling of the aircraft, referring to them as “cost-effective,” “truly lethal,” and “uncrewed fighters” that will redefine how America projects power in contested skies.
Developed under the USAF’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, the YFQ-42A by General Atomics and the YFQ-44A by Anduril Industries represent the first tangible fruits of years of classified development, high-level defense acquisition, and an aggressive pivot toward autonomy in aerial warfare.
The CCA program is a cornerstone of the Air Force’s broader “Next Generation Air Dominance” (NGAD) initiative, which aims to integrate a family of systems — including manned and unmanned platforms — to achieve decisive advantage against peer adversaries like China and Russia. While stealth fighters like the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II remain the tip of the spear, CCAs are envisioned as force multipliers: cheaper, smarter, and more disposable.
The YFQ-42A is derived from the XQ-67, a demonstrator that first flew in 2024. General Atomics has since refined the design, producing a platform with clear stealth-forward features. The aircraft now sports a top-mounted air inlet and twin canted vertical stabilizers, hallmarks of low-observable design intended to reduce radar cross-section (RCS). Compared to the XQ-67, it has a more rounded intake and slightly modified fuselage lines — signs of ongoing shaping for stealth optimization.
By contrast, Anduril’s YFQ-44A “Fury” opts for a more conventional layout. It features a ventral air intake and a single vertical tail, choices that may suggest different prioritization in flight performance, systems integration, or logistics.
Despite the visual divergence, both platforms are built to meet the same mission set: escort manned fighters, perform autonomous strikes, serve as decoys or electronic warfare nodes, and extend the sensor reach of human pilots.
Allvin’s post included a now-viral infographic, revealing that the two CCAs are expected to achieve a combat radius of over 700 nautical miles. While their stealth isn’t projected to rival that of the F-22 or upcoming NGAD platforms, it will be on par with the F-35 — sufficient to survive in contested zones when paired with tactical planning and swarm tactics.
The plan is to field over 1,000 CCAs between 2025 and 2029, with production scaling rapidly after flight testing proves successful. If achieved, this would be the largest rollout of a new U.S. military aircraft since the Cold War, and the most extensive introduction of autonomous combat aircraft in history.
Crucially, the Air Force’s approach doesn’t view CCAs as replacements for manned jets — not yet, anyway. Instead, they are “attritable”: cheaper, lower-risk aircraft that can take on high-risk missions without endangering human pilots. In practice, this could mean sending YFQ-42As into contested airspace ahead of an F-35 strike package, or using YFQ-44As to jam enemy sensors while manned fighters engage from afar.
For General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI), the YFQ-42A is a natural evolution of its legacy of unmanned platforms. The company is best known for the MQ-9 Reaper, the workhorse drone of the post-9/11 era. It also developed the stealthier MQ-20 Avenger (Predator C), which served as a stepping stone to its XQ-67 demonstrator and now the YFQ-42A.
“This is an exciting next step for our company,” said David R. Alexander, President of GA-ASI. “The YFQ-42A reflects years of collaboration with the U.S. Air Force to bring next-generation capabilities to the unmanned domain. We’re looking forward to beginning ground testing and moving swiftly to first flight.”
Unlike the Reaper, which operates at medium altitudes and is primarily a surveillance and strike platform, the YFQ-42A is built for survivability, speed, and front-line combat. It is jet-powered and stealth-optimized, with potential payload options including air-to-air missiles, electronic warfare pods, or sensors.
Anduril’s entry into the CCA competition was seen by many as a dark horse win. The defense tech startup, founded by Oculus VR co-founder Palmer Luckey, has built a reputation for rapid development and software-first systems design. Its Lattice AI platform has been used in everything from border surveillance towers to autonomous underwater drones.
The YFQ-44A, nicknamed “Fury,” reflects this ethos. While it may look more traditional, its advantage may lie under the skin — particularly in its ability to rapidly ingest new algorithms, swarm with other drones, or operate with minimal connectivity to human controllers.
Anduril has kept technical details of Fury close to the vest but emphasized that its uncrewed fighter will feature modular payload bays, adaptive mission planning, and scalable production.
While Increment 1 — comprising the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A — is focused on medium-range, stealth-capable, and attritable aircraft, the Air Force is already planning for Increment 2 of the CCA program. This phase may involve smaller, even more expendable drones, capable of being air-launched from other platforms.
Lockheed Martin, a losing bidder in the first round, is reportedly refocusing its approach to better align with Increment 2 priorities. Their new concepts depict CCAs more like cruise missiles than fighters — suggesting a vision where CCAs can be stored internally on bombers like the B-21 Raider or deployed from standoff ranges.
This “airborne arsenal” model would allow CCAs to serve as loyal wingmen not only for fighters, but for larger aircraft with room to spare — a vision of future air combat that is distributed, dynamic, and harder for enemies to counter.
In early May, the Air Force announced that Beale Air Force Base in California — home of the legendary U-2 spy plane — is the preferred host for the initial operational deployment of CCAs. Beale’s infrastructure, intelligence mission sets, and vast airspace make it an ideal proving ground for autonomous systems.
However, formal environmental and operational impact assessments are still underway, and the final decision is pending. Wherever they’re based, CCAs are expected to operate in a flexible, dispersed model — moving between forward operating locations as missions demand.
This operational concept represents a fundamental shift. Instead of being tied to fixed bases and long logistics chains, CCAs can be pre-positioned or rapidly transported to areas of need, taking off from austere airstrips or even roads if necessary.
While the Air Force frames the CCA program as a way to increase survivability and reduce cost, its strategic implications are broader. By fielding hundreds or thousands of intelligent, autonomous aircraft, the U.S. signals that it can generate overwhelming combat mass without risking pilot lives.
This has deterrence value, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, where China has fielded its own stealth drones and air defense systems. If a crisis erupts, the ability to deploy a swarm of CCAs alongside F-35s or B-21s could give U.S. commanders the ability to rapidly saturate enemy defenses, execute time-sensitive strikes, or perform reconnaissance under fire.
Moreover, the modular nature of the CCA architecture means that payloads and missions can evolve rapidly. In an age where software updates can redefine weapon systems overnight, this is a major asset.
Flight testing for both the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A is expected to begin within months. If successful, the aircraft will begin transitioning to limited operations by 2026, with full-rate production to follow soon after.
The Pentagon has signaled that the CCA program is not just a one-off experiment but a cornerstone of future force design. As conflicts become faster, more automated, and more complex, uncrewed systems like these will not just support manned aircraft — they may eventually outnumber and outfight them.
