The United States Air Force (USAF) is preparing to take a new\ngeneration of unmanned combat aircraft to testing stages much closer to\nactual warfare operations. Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) will, for\nthe first time, participate in a large-scale deployment exercise during\nEmerald Flag in December 2026, featuring a scenario that integrates\nsemi-autonomous combat drones alongside fourth and fifth-generation\nfighter aircraft.<\/p>\n
This move marks a new phase following previous tests where the\nYFQ-44A Fury prototype, manufactured by Anduril, flew in formation with\nthe F-35 stealth fighter. During Emerald Flag, the focus will shift from\nmere formation flying to more complete air power integration,\nencompassing communication, command and control, mission execution, and\nthe development of human trust in aircraft capable of performing tasks\nautonomously.<\/p>\n
Lieutenant Colonel Lyndon \u201cOTTO\u201d Bartlett, Director of Operations for\nthe Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) at Nellis Air Force Base, stated\nthat the Air Force has never previously brought CCA into a real-world\nlarge-force employment exercise. \u201cThe first will take place at Emerald\nFlag. It will be carried out in December,\u201d Bartlett said during the Air,\nSpace & Cyber Conference 2026, as reported by The War Zone\n(TWZ).<\/p>\n
The EOU has been leading operational experiments on the two primary\nCCA candidates: the FQ-42 Vengeance by General Atomics and the FQ-44\nFury by Anduril. In June, the US Air Force decided that its initial\noperational CCA fleet would consist of a mix of both aircraft types.<\/p>\n
While full integration in large-scale exercises is set for December,\njoint flights with the F-3<0xA0>5 have already commenced. Reports\nindicate that the YFQ-44A Fury has previously flown in formation with\nthe F-35 during US Air Force testing. Anduril confirmed that these\nflights took place during Agile Combat Employment exercises at Creech\nAir Force Base, Nevada, in July. During those flights, the Fury and F-35\nflew together, though F-35 pilots did not yet directly control the\ndrone.<\/p>\n
The company is now moving towards more complex stages. Jason Levin,\nSenior Vice President of Air Dominance and Strike at Anduril, stated\nthat the company has begun testing known as \u2018quarterback integration\u2019.\nUnder this concept, manned fighter crews will eventually be able to\nissue commands to the drones via interfaces such as tablets.<\/p>\n
Anduril has reportedly tested this integration through hardware and\nsoftware simulations and on its own aircraft, with further\ndemonstrations expected in the coming months. The concept is not merely\nan F-35 accompanied by a drone; the CCA is designed to be part of a\nsingle combat package, receiving mission objectives and executing\nspecific tasks with high autonomy to expand manned aircraft capabilities\nwithout putting additional pilots at risk.<\/p>\n
Emerald Flag holds significant importance as the US Air Force has\nlong used the exercise to test combat networks, communication\narchitectures, and new command and control systems. Bartlett noted that\nthe December exercise will be the first time the Air Force conducts an\nend-to-end demonstration of the CCA chain, with drones participating in\noffensive air operations alongside fourth and fifth-generation\naircraft.<\/p>\n
While the initial scale may be small, such testing is vital for\nbuilding trust in the CCA\u2014something difficult to achieve through\nsimulation alone. Trust is a critical issue because CCA are not designed\nlike the MQ-9 Reaper, which is conventionally flown by operators from\nground control stations. Bartlett emphasised that these aircraft are not\nremotely piloted aircraft; they do not have pilots.<\/p>\n
Instead, the CCA uses mission autonomy agents to perform parts of its\ntasks, meaning flight policies, command structures, and interactions\nwith air traffic control must be redesigned. However, \u2018autonomous\u2019 does\nnot mean the aircraft can make all decisions regarding the use of force\nwithout human intervention. The US Air Force programme focuses on\nmission autonomy\u2014the ability of the system to execute assigned tasks\nwithin specific parameters while humans maintain oversight and direction\nof the mission.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-autonomous-combat-drones-set-to-fly-alongside-f-35-1789604863", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }