The Air Force awarded production contracts to Anduril and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems on June 17 for Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) Increment 1, committing to field more than 150 semi-autonomous drone fighters by the end of the decade.
The award covers the FQ-42A Dark Merlin from General Atomics and the FQ-44A Fury from Anduril. Both aircraft drop the “Y” prototype prefix with this award, becoming the first unmanned aircraft in Air Force history to carry an operational fighter designation. The contracts arrived four months ahead of schedule.
“By moving fast from competitive selection into full-scale manufacturing, we position ourselves to field highly credible and combat-ready semi-autonomous systems to stay ahead of the pacing challenge,” Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said.
Col. Timothy Helfrich, portfolio acquisition executive for Fighters and Advanced Aircraft, confirmed the per-unit cost target is under $30 million, roughly one-third the price of an F-35A, with a 700-nautical-mile combat radius and an air superiority mission for Increment 1. The Air Force requested nearly $1 billion in fiscal year 2027 procurement funding for Increment 1.
The contracts followed a new competitive source selection that re-solicited all five original hardware vendors, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, according to Helfrich.
On the software side, the Air Force selected Anduril, RTX Collins Aerospace, and Shield AI to compete through two six-month mission autonomy performance phases, with a primary provider selection planned for summer 2027. All six vendors hold positions in a baseline contract pool lasting six years.
Anduril is the only company with contracts on both the hardware and software sides of the program.
“Mission autonomy is the cornerstone of the CCA concept, and leveraging a competitive, multi-vendor environment ensures we capture the latest technology,” Meink said.
