Washington: The US Air Force announced it has selected Beale Air Force Base in California to host the service’s first “Aircraft Readiness Unit” dedicated to its future fleet of drone wingmen.
The drones, dubbed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), have also begun ground testing ahead of a first flight expected this summer, the Air Force said in a press release.
“Starting ground tests is a key milestone for the CCA Increment 1 program,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen David Allvin said in the release. “This phase bridges the gap between design and flight, reducing integration risks, boosting confidence, and laying the groundwork for a successful first flight and eventual fielding to the warfighter.”
The ground test phase underway “includes rigorous evaluations” of the two drone prototypes, the Air Force’s release says, which will examine “propulsion systems, avionics, autonomy integration, and ground control interfaces.”
The “assessments will validate performance, inform future design decisions, and prepare the systems for flight testing later this year,” according to the release.
Meanwhile, the readiness unit will “provide combat aircraft ready to deploy worldwide at a moment’s notice.” The drones are not expected to “fly a significant number of daily sorties to maintain readiness,” according to the release. As a result, compared to other weapon systems, a “substantially lower” number of airmen will be tasked with sustaining the aircraft to ensure they remain “fly-ready.”
General Atomics and Anduril, whose drone prototypes are respectively dubbed the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, are facing off for the Air Force programme after their selection by the service last year. At least one of the prototypes is expected to head into production for the programme’s first tranche or “increment,” although other firms are also able to compete for the opportunity.
