US EditionUS Air Force’s CCA program advances with auto-flying software integration
- On Thursday, the U.S. Air Force announced it is integrating a government-owned autonomy package via the Autonomy Government Reference Architecture onto Collaborative Combat Aircraft prototypes, advancing toward a production decision sometime this year.
- To avoid vendor lock, the service designed A-GRA to leverage modular open-systems architectures, enabling rapid deployment of the best algorithms on any compliant platform.
- Collins Aerospace, RTX subsidiary, integrated Sidekick onto General Atomics' YFQ-42A, which followed ground commands for more than four hours, while Anduril retrofits YFQ-44A with Shield AI software for flight in coming months.
- The Air Force intends to field at least 1,000 Increment 1 CCAs for strike, reconnaissance, electronic warfare and decoy roles, aiming for operational capability by the end of the decade.
- Other companies remain eligible to compete on the upcoming Increment 1, as the Air Force emphasizes verifying A-GRA across partners is critical and expects live semi-autonomous flights very soon.
21 Articles
21 Articles
CCA prototypes integrate with mission autonomy from Shield AI and RTX
The Air Force has validated its autonomy government reference architecture, allowing prototypes from its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program to link up for the first time with mission autonomy vendors, the service announced today. The milestone pairs Anduril Industries’ YFQ-44A with Shield AI software and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ YFQ-42A with an algorithm developed by RTX Collins Aerospace. By proving the interoperability of the A…
Defense News
Military TimesUS Air Force’s CCA program advances with auto-flying software integration
The U.S. Air Force said Thursday that government-owned autonomous software programs have been successfully integrated into both of its prototype collaborative combat aircraft, in a major milestone.In a statement, the service said this shows a central pillar of its CCA strategy — that they can be easily modified and upgraded using a modular open systems architecture — can work, and improve how the defense industrial base operates.CCAs are drone w…
Air Force begins testing mission autonomy package for CCA prototypes
The Air Force announced Thursday that it is integrating and testing the mission autonomy package for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) prototypes — moving the program one step closer to a production decision this year. The service is currently integrating a government-owned Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) onto loyal wingman drones built by both General Atomics and Anduril, according to an Air Force news release. The work…
Its lace in programs like the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) of the U.S. Air Force suggests an imminent entry into service to act as escort, advanced sensor or attack platform.In conclusion, the MQ-28 Ghost Bat has ceased to be an experimental concept to become a tactical reality that combines "humans, algorithms and swarms", ready to redefine air superiority in the second half of the decade.As for its weaponry, the most prominent milestone…
Air Force Working with Collins, Shield AI to Build Software for CCAs
The Air Force is working with Collins Aerospace and Shield AI to develop the software Collaborative Combat Aircraft will use to fly missions alongside manned fighters, the service revealed Feb. 12—and drone-maker General Atomics was quick to announce it has already flown its YFQ-42A aircraft with Collins’ system. Shield AI, meanwhile, said Feb. 13 it expects to start flight testing its software on Anduril Industries’ YFQ-44A drone “in the comi…
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