“We already know the F-22 will play a critical role in crewed-uncrewed teaming operations, and General Atomics is in a unique position to get this started now,” company spokesman C. Mark Brinkley told Breaking Defense.
International customers will be able to acquire Gambit 6 from 2027, ahead of European “missionized versions” eligible for delivery in 2029, according to General Atomics.
Explore how networked warfare, AI, and 3D-printed drones are reshaping US Indo-Pacific strategy.
The tech startup’s YFQ-44A is the second of two drone prototypes to take flight under the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
It’s not the first time Trump has fixated on the technology.
The agreement unlocks "total access" for the Netherlands into the US Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, said Dutch State Secretary for Defense Gijs Tuinman.
The service has permitted furloughed employees to return to work “to ensure continuity of operations and avoid any potential delay” for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, according to an Air Force official.
The U.S. Army’s MAPS Gen II program of record for assured PNT provides an authoritative and reliable source of truth for combat vehicles in a highly contested battlespace.
The companies intend for their jointly developed and produced version of the Gray Eagle to first fly in 2027.
“I can’t fund the government,” said Anduril Founder Palmer Luckey.
“This is certainly a growth market. It’s gonna take awhile to get there, but you could easily see hundreds of air vehicles built per year in this market sometime in the early 2030s,” Richard Aboulafia, managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, told Breaking Defense.
RTX will provide autonomy capabilities for General Atomics’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft offering dubbed the YFQ-42A, while Shield AI will supply the autonomy pilot for Anduril’s YFQ-44A, a source told Breaking Defense.
Six companies have already signed up for a new flight-test program to mature their autonomy software.
Anduril is still "well ahead of the program schedule” for the first flight of its YFQ-44A, said Diem Salmon, Anduril’s vice president for Air Dominance and Strike.
Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics and Anduril are all in line to produce conceptual designs for the Navy’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, according to a Navy slide reviewed by Breaking Defense.
General Atomics’s YFQ-42A drone conducted its first flight for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. A separate drone built by Anduril is expected to fly soon.
From Europe to the Middle East and beyond, the events of our era teach a tough but important lesson for the U.S. and its allies: Readiness is essential.