While the service has issued production contracts for both the FQ-42 and FQ-44, officials say they are waiting to see how the jets perform before committing to quantities.
The US Air Force plans to evaluate the performance of their first uncrewed fighter jets before committing to procurement targets.
While the service has issued production contracts for the General Atomics FQ-42 and Anduril Industries FQ-44 under the first increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme, the exact mix of the aircraft has yet to be determined.
“I don’t think we’re ready to say that,” says air force secretary Troy Meink. “It depends on how the current ones perform and what additional capabilities the users are saying we need.”
Meink has confirmed the air force will field at least 500 increment-one CCA jets by 2032. However, that does not necessarily mean an even split between the FQ-42 and FQ-44.
Instead, the service will buy aircraft in multiple smaller batches to allow for iterative development.
“The first 20 of these, and the second 20, and the next 20, and the next 20 – there will be evolution,” Meink says. “That was designed into the architecture. So I expect to see continued evolvement of those systems.”
A second increment of CCAs is also in the works, which is expected to include multiple classes of aircraft, according to industry sources. However, no performance requirements or technical specifications have been set.
“We’re still working our way through that,” Meink says.
The programme’s second increment is expected to involve a separate competition with a new set of vendors.
The air force’s top uniformed officer says the service has an open mind about what it wants from the next iteration of autonomous fighters.
“Not necessarily have we made any decisions on” increment two, says chief of staff General Kenneth Wilsbach. “But we’re going through some thought machinations about what [those aircraft] be able to do.”
While the FQ-42 and FQ-44 are intended as relatively low-cost air-to-air-strike platforms, Wilsbach says subsequent CCA designs could include air-to-ground strike capability and have different profiles in terms of cost, survivability and performance.
“Do we want it to be more attritable or expendable, or do we want it to be more exquisite?” he says. “Do we want it to be shorter range or longer range? Do we want it to be something that you drop off of another platform, or does it take-off and land by itself? These are all considerations.”
The answers to those questions, he adds, will come only after the air force has gotten its hands on combat-configured FQ-42s and FQ-44s and allowed its frontline operators to evaluate the performance of the trailblazing jets.
The service has created a new squadron dubbed the Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) to do exactly that. The unit will also develop CCA employment concepts and tactics, techniques and procedures for integrating the new aircraft with conventional fighters.
Anduril says it recently delivered one YFQ-44 prototype to the EOU, making it the first aircraft assigned to the unit.
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