On June 17, 2026, the U.S. Air Force cleared both the General Atomics YFQ-42A and the Anduril YFQ-44A “Fury” into initial production — the first aircraft ever to carry a fighter “F” designation in the U.S. designation series without a cockpit. Roughly 150 airframes are planned by 2030 under Increment 1 of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
Two drones, one production line
Rather than down-select to a single winner, the service is buying both. The YFQ-42 grows out of General Atomics’ jet-powered Avenger heritage and leans on low-observable shaping; Anduril’s Fury pairs a Williams FJ44 turbofan with autonomy software, reaching altitudes around 50,000 ft and high-subsonic-to-near-supersonic speeds. The YFQ-42 first flew in August 2025 and the YFQ-44 followed that October.
Wingmen for the F-47 and F-35
The CCA fleet is meant to fly as loyal wingmen alongside crewed jets — carrying extra missiles, jamming, or sensors ahead of the sixth-generation F-47 and today’s F-35. At a target cost far below a crewed fighter, the Air Force wants them “affordable mass” it can risk. It is the clearest sign yet that the next air war will be flown partly by machines with no one on board.