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As the photo in this post shows, the US Air Force (USAF) is testing Anduril YFQ-44 Fury Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) with an inert AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).
The USAF in fact has entered the next phase of developmental testing for its CCA program, initiating disciplined weapons integration and captive carry evaluations using inert test munitions to validate airworthiness, safety and systems performance.
This milestone represents a deliberate step forward in integrating CCA into the Air Force’s future force design. Captive carry testing with inert weapons evaluates the aircraft’s ability to safely carry external stores, validates structural integrity and aerodynamic performance, and confirms compatibility between the aircraft and its weapons systems prior to any live employment considerations.
“We are following the same detailed approach used in every other aircraft developmental test program to validate structural performance, flight characteristics and safe separation,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach, in a USAF news release. “This ensures the CCA can safely integrate inert weapons before future employment.”
The CCA program is designed to deliver affordable, risk-tolerant aircraft that operate as part of a human-machine team, extending the reach, survivability and effectiveness of crewed platforms in contested environments.
CCA program officials emphasized that this phase remains developmental and focused on safe systems integration — not operational employment. The use of inert test weapons allows engineers and test pilots to evaluate performance characteristics and separation safety in a controlled environment without live ordnance.
“CCA is a critical part of a larger, integrated system-of-systems that will give our warfighters the overwhelming advantage,” Wilsbach said. “This program is about delivering a network of effects that will sense, strike and shield our forces in contested environments. We are empowering our teams to take smart risks and deliver this capability faster, ensuring we can deter, and if necessary, defeat any adversary.”
Throughout development and testing, a human retains authority over weapons release decisions. CCA is designed to operate within established command structures and legal frameworks that govern all Air Force weapons systems.
By advancing weapons integration testing in a deliberate and transparent manner, the Air Force continues to modernize its force to deter aggression, defend the nation and uphold its commitment to responsible innovation.
As already reported, in March the US Air Force announced the designation of two Mission Design Series within its CCA program: the YFQ-42A (General Atomics) and the YFQ-44A (Anduril).
Representing the first in a new generation of uncrewed fighter aircraft, both will be crucial in securing air superiority for the Joint Force in future conflicts. These aircraft are designed to leverage autonomous capabilities and crewed-uncrewed teaming to defeat enemy threats in contested environments.
The MDS designation provides a standardized framework for identifying and classifying these aircraft:
The US Air Force is developing a new type of uncrewed weapon system called Collaborative Combat Aircraft. The Air Force contends that CCA is being created as a so-called “loyal wingman,” a large uncrewed aircraft (UAS) that could fly alongside new and existing crewed fighter jets. The Air Force describes CCAs, powered by jet engines, as potentially able to fly alone or in small groups, and potentially equipped for a variety of missions, including air-to-air combat; air-to-ground combat; electronic warfare; targeting; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
According to CRS Reports, the Air Force says CCAs’ AI-driven software would enable collaboration with, and take direction from, human pilots and would serve to expand the fighter fleet and protect human pilots at a lower cost than current fighter jets. There is a “planning assumption” of 1,000 CCAs, a number derived by projecting the use of two CCAs for each of 500 advanced fighters.
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force
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