General Atomics YQF-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) Takes Off on it's Maiden Flight.

The U.S. Air Force and General Atomics' Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GS-ASI) division announced on August 27, 2025 that the General Atomics YFQ-42A had made its maiden flight, beating out Anduril's rival YFQ-44A to the air. It is unclear when the actual fight took place. The U.S. Air Force had announced that the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A had both begun ground testing ahead of their first flights back in May.

Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink stated, "This milestone showcases what's possible when innovative aquisition meets motivated industry. In record time, CCA went from concept to flight - proving we can deliver combat capability at speed when we clear barriers and align around the warfighter."

"The CCA went from concept to fisrt flight in just 16 months after the contract was awarded - proving that we can deliver combat capability at speed!" according to a post from Meink's official account on X.

"What a great moment for the U.S. Air Force and for GA-ASI," GA-ASI's President David R. Alexander said in a seperate statement. "It's been our collaboration that enabled us to build and fly the YFQ-42A in just over a year. It's an incredible salute to the Air Force for its vision and I salute our development team for delivering yet another  historic first for our company."

The General Atomics YFQ-42A, along with the rival Anduril YFQ-44A, are part of the U.S. Air Force's Increment 1 Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. The CCA program was designed to create unmanned drones to accompany manned fighter aircraft in the Manned UnManned -Teaming (MUM-T) concept. Air Force officials have stated previously that they intend to order between 100 and 150 drones under Increment 1.

The YFQ-42A was derived from the General Atomics XQ-67A Offboard Sensing Station (OBSS) drone,  which won the U.S. Air Force's Offboard Sensing Statiom (OBSS) program last year. Th.e Air Force has previously described the OBSS effort as a major 'feeder' into the CCA program.

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