WASHINGTON – In a significant development in the Air Warfare sector, Defense startup Anduril and drone maker General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) have been selected by the Air Force to construct and test drone prototypes for the next phase of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, as announced by the Air Force.
This decision comes after the Air Force narrowed down a pool of five competitors to just two, resulting in the elimination of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman from the running. The remaining companies not chosen to build the production representative CCA vehicles will still have the opportunity to compete for future contracts within the industry partner vendor pool.
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft initiative, unveiled as a major multibillion-dollar program in the fiscal year 2024 budget, aims to initially deploy up to 1,000 drones. Officials are planning to make a competitive production decision by Fiscal Year 2026 for the first round of CCA work, with the goal of fielding a fully operational capability before the end of the decade.
As part of the selection process, GA-ASI plans to enter its Gambit drone family, while Anduril’s acquisition of autonomous aircraft vendor Blue Force last year positions the Fury drone as its bid. Both companies expressed their commitment and readiness to advance the development of unmanned aircraft systems for the Air Force.
Boeing, on the other hand, offered a proprietary solution tailored to the Air Force’s unique CCA phase one requirements, while Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have not disclosed their candidates. Lockheed remains dedicated to advancing autonomous systems for air and ground missions, emphasizing their ongoing commitment to integrating autonomous and AI/ML enabled operations in defense systems.
Looking ahead, the CCA program will continue to focus on developing the drones’ autonomous software, with a parallel effort to ensure progress independent of hardware advancements. The service already has a solid foundation of vendors working on this element of CCA work, further emphasizing the commitment to the program’s success and development.