U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin announced that an Experimental Operations Unit for CCA testing was given an operational squadron status.
The 53rd Wing formally activated the Experimental Operations Unit during a ceremony held on June 5 at Nellis Air Force Base. Having operated as a detachment since 2023, the unit is now an operational squadron as a step in the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 1 effort.
The new status of the unit will allow studies and tests for CCAs to be optimised for realistic combat scenarios by providing a proving ground.
The U.S. Air Force is planning to use CCAs as unmanned support for fifth- and sixth-generation fighters, such as the F-35 and the upcoming F-47. Currently, two prototypes, YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, are being evaluated.
YFQ-44A is Anduril’s submission for the CCA programme as a high-speed platform capable of carrying two AIM-120 AMRAAMs externally in addition to onboard radar or jammer.
YFQ-42A of General Atomics adopts high aspect ratio wings and a form focused on low observability. Much like YFQ-44A, the equipment includes air-to-air missiles and sensors to support manned aircraft.
While CCAs are meant to be significantly cheaper than manned fighters, including F-16, they are not meant to be expendable.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
