- U.S. Air Force prototypes took to the sky. GA‑ASI’s YFQ‑42A made the program’s first flight on Aug. 27, 2025; Anduril’s YFQ‑44A “Fury” is next. A production decision for Increment 1 is slated for FY26, with operational fielding before decade’s end. DefenseScoop
- U.S. Navy jumps in. The Navy awarded concept contracts to major primes for a carrier‑based CCA—a big shift from its previous “wait-and-see” stance. Defense News
- U.S. Marines formalize Valkyrie. The XQ‑58A Valkyrie is moving to a program of record for the Marine Corps. Aviation Week
- Australia’s Ghost Bat proves out. RAAF and Boeing finished Capability Demonstration 2025 four months early, validating team operations and E‑7 Wedgetail control—with live weapons shots planned late 2025/early 2026. MediaRoom
- Europe & Japan accelerate, rivals respond. Europe continues Remote Carrier work amid FCAS political friction; Japan is funding wingman experiments. China touts FH‑97A; Russia pushes S‑70 Okhotnik messaging. Army Recognition
What is a “loyal wingman” / CCA?
“Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA)” is the U.S. term for AI‑enabled, uncrewed jets that fly with or in support of crewed fighters/bombers, or operate autonomously when comms are jammed. Think of them as missile trucks, sensor scouts, electronic attackers, decoys, and strikers—all in one modular, upgradeable family. The Air Force’s planning assumption aims for ~1,000 CCAs to provide “affordable mass,” priced far below crewed fighters. Air Force
“It’s truly encouraging to witness the rapid execution of this program.” — Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. Air Force
Kendall and acquisition chief Andrew Hunter have emphasized “continuous competition” and close operator‑engineer teaming to move fast. Air Force
The money & timeline—in plain English
- Unit cost: Analyses quoting Air Force leaders put CCA per‑tail costs around $25–$30M—roughly a quarter to a third of an F‑35 today. The goal is capacity at scale without breaking budgets. csis.org
- Quantities: Air Force planning assumes ~1,000 CCAs (about two per NGAD fighter and two per F‑35 in the notional model). Increment 1 is air‑to‑air–oriented; Increment 2 will broaden missions. Congress.gov & Space Forces Association
- Milestones: Two vendors (Anduril, GA‑ASI) were down‑selected in April 2024; YFQ‑42A flew in Aug. 2025; production choice FY26; fielding before 2030. Reuters
What just happened—and why it matters
United States
Air Force (USAF):
- Downselect: Anduril & General Atomics funded to build production‑representative test articles; others remain in the vendor pool for future increments. Reuters
- Designations: USAF created the first‑ever unmanned fighter MDS—YFQ‑42A (GA‑ASI) and YFQ‑44A (Anduril “Fury”). Air Force
- First flight: YFQ‑42A began flight tests Aug. 27, 2025; Anduril’s YFQ‑44A is “on track.” DefenseScoop
- Why it matters: This validates the pace and feasibility of fielding autonomous missile‑carrying wingmen this decade—reshaping force design and tactics. Defense News
Navy (USN):
- Carrier‑based CCA: The Navy quietly awarded concept contracts to multiple primes (Anduril, Boeing, GA‑ASI, Northrop, Lockheed) for a deck‑launched “loyal wingman.” It’s the clearest sign yet that CCAs will extend the range and punch of the carrier air wing. Defense News
- Context: Navy’s F/A‑XX fighter competition also progressed this year, underscoring a future manned‑unmanned team on carriers. Reuters
Marine Corps (USMC):
- Valkyrie moves to program of record. The Marines are transitioning XQ‑58A Valkyrie into a formal program, positioning it to be the first CCA fielded by the USMC. As CEO Eric DeMarco put it, “the Valkyrie is becoming a program of record.” Aviation Week
Australia
- MQ‑28 Ghost Bat: RAAF & Boeing completed operational demos early, validating autonomous behaviors, multi‑ship operations, Wedgetail control, and data‑sharing—with an air‑to‑air weapon shot planned later this year/early 2026. MediaRoom
- Earlier reporting suggested a narrower ISR focus; the 2025 demos show combat‑relevant teaming continuing apace. The Australian
Europe & Japan
- Europe (FCAS/Remote Carriers): MBDA has flown a Remote Carrier testbed; meanwhile work‑share disputes have put FCAS governance in the headlines—important context for Europe’s own wingman concepts. Aviation Week
- Japan: The defense ministry funded wingman experiments (via Boeing Japan) and Subaru delivered experimental air vehicles to ATLA—part of a path toward manned‑unmanned teaming and synergy with GCAP. The Defense Post
China & Russia (the competition)
- China: Public showcases of the FH‑97A present a Chinese “loyal wingman” vision (swarm control, strike, EW) supporting J‑20—reflecting Beijing’s push to field combat‑ready autonomous wingmen. Financial Times
- Russia: The S‑70 Okhotnik remains a high‑profile talking point tied to the Su‑57, with mixed real‑world performance reporting. Army Recognition
How CCAs actually work (without the buzzwords)
- Autonomy you can trust:
DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution (ACE) has already flown AI vs. human F‑16 dogfights in real jets, building the safety cases (and pilot trust) needed for mission autonomy at aircraft speeds. darpa.mil
A Navy official asked: “How do we take that concept of trust and now bring it to collaborative autonomy?” The War Zone
- Mission packages, not one‑offs:
CCAs plug different payloads (sensors, EW pods, decoys, weapons) into a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) and Open Mission Systems (OMS)—so upgrades look more like app installs than bespoke rewires. U.S. law now requires MOSA for major programs. dsp.dla.mil - Human command, machine speed:
By policy, autonomous weapons must enable “appropriate levels of human judgment” over the use of force. That’s DoD Directive 3000.09 (updated 2023) plus Responsible AI guardrails. CCAs are built to comply. Defense Security Service - Comms‑denied resilience:
When datalinks are jammed, CCAs degrade gracefully to onboard autonomy, pre‑briefed behaviors, and collaborative sensing—the same logic measured in ACE dogfights. (DARPA and AFRL’s Skyborg laid much of this groundwork.) darpa.mil
What missions will CCAs fly first?
- Air‑to‑air “missile truck” (Increment 1): Carry extra AIM‑120‑class weapons to extend magazine depth for F‑22/F‑35/NGAD. Air & Space Forces Magazine
- Sensing & targeting: Scout ahead with passive sensors, feed fused tracks back to the flight. (RAAF demos validated multi‑ship data fusion and Wedgetail control.) MediaRoom
- SEAD/DEAD & EW: The Marines’ Valkyrie has been paired with F‑35Bs for electronic attack and target cueing—exactly the kind of high‑risk roles CCAs can absorb. Business Insider
- Carrier air wing roles: Strike, jamming, and screening for F/A‑XX and F‑35C, if the Navy’s concept studies mature into a program of record. Defense News
Who’s building what (today)
- General Atomics (YFQ‑42A): Flew first; derived from XQ‑67A lineage; focused on air‑to‑air for Increment 1. DefenseScoop
- Anduril (YFQ‑44A “Fury”): A fast‑moving, modular design aimed at affordable mass and rapid production; flight tests “will begin soon.” Breaking Defense
- Kratos (XQ‑58A Valkyrie): Proving out attritable concepts; moving to USMC program of record; additional variants planned. Aviation Week
- Boeing (MQ‑28 Ghost Bat): With the RAAF, just validated operational teaming and is preparing live A2A shots. MediaRoom
- Europe (Airbus/MBDA): Remote Carrier demonstrators flying; workshare politics could shape timelines for a European wingman. Aviation Week
- Japan (ATLA, Boeing, Subaru): Contracts and prototype deliveries fuel a domestic wingman path aligned to GCAP. The Defense Post
How much will this really cost?
Expect $25–$30M per CCA in U.S. planning—and dozens to hundreds purchased if vendors can manufacture at scale (Anduril is also partnering in Europe with Rheinmetall for localized production). The allure isn’t just “cheap jets”; it’s frequent upgrades via open architectures. csis.org
Safety, law, and ethics
U.S. policy requires human judgment over the use of force; testing and verification are mandatory before fielding. That’s not just rhetoric—the ACE program’s real‑jet trials focused squarely on trust & safety envelopes, and some competitive results remain classified. Defense Security Service
“Our collaboration with both current and potential industry partners remains pivotal.” — Andrew Hunter, USAF acquisition chief. Air Force
What could still go wrong?
- Jamming & cyber: LPI/LPD links and autonomy must hold up when networks break. (That’s the whole point of mission autonomy.) darpa.mil
- Budget churn: Cost targets must be hit, or scale falls apart; Congress is watching the unit cost closely. Defense Daily
- Industrial base: Speed requires new factories, suppliers, and software pipelines—not a given. Reuters
- Allied alignment: Europe’s FCAS politics and work‑share disputes could slow continental wingman timelines. Reuters
What to watch next (2025–2026)
- Anduril’s first flight and weapons‑relevant tests across both USAF prototypes. Breaking Defense
- Navy’s carrier CCA narrowing down to a program of record. Defense News
- USMC Valkyrie production orders and early fielding. Aviation Week
- RAAF MQ‑28 air‑to‑air live fire and allied interest. MediaRoom
Bonus: Key expert quotes you can cite
- Frank Kendall (SECAF): “It’s truly encouraging to witness the rapid execution of this program.” Air Force
- Andrew Hunter (USAF): “Our collaboration … remains pivotal” for CCA’s next phase. Air Force
- USN perspective: “How do we take that concept of trust and now bring it to collaborative autonomy?” The War Zone
- Kratos CEO Eric DeMarco: Valkyrie is “becoming a program of record” for the Marines. Flight Global
Sources & further reading
- USAF downselect (Apr. 24, 2024): Anduril & GA‑ASI advance in CCA. Reuters
- Designation (Mar. 3, 2025): YFQ‑42A and YFQ‑44A become first unmanned fighters. Air Force
- First flight (Aug. 27–28, 2025): YFQ‑42A begins flight testing. DefenseScoop
- Navy carrier CCA (Sept. 2025): Concept contracts awarded to multiple primes. Defense News
- USMC Valkyrie (Aug. 2025): Program‑of‑record transition. Aviation Week
- RAAF Ghost Bat (Sept. 5, 2025): Ops demonstration four months early. MediaRoom
- Cost & quantity context: CRS/CSIS notes on 1,000 CCAs and $25–$30M per tail. Congress.gov
- Policy: DoDD 3000.09 (2023 update) & DoD Responsible AI. Defense Security Service
- AE dogfights: AI vs. human F‑16 trials. darpa.mil
Bottom line
The AI wingman era has begun. In the U.S., prototypes are flying, the Navy is moving on a carrier‑ready CCA, and the Marines are turning Valkyrie into a fielded capability. Allies are lining up their own wingmen while China and Russia race to compete. If the cost and production promises hold, CCAs will change the math of airpower—more sensors, more missiles, more risk‑worthy platforms—all faster than traditional aircraft programs can turn.
