Air Force selects General Atomics and Anduril for drone wingman production

The US Air Force has awarded production contracts to General Atomics and Anduril for the first increment of its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. The CCA initiative aims to field autonomous drones that operate as loyal wingmen to crewed F-35s and F-22s, extending sensor reach and weapons capacity without risking pilot lives.

Both companies secured slots in what the service calls Increment One, the initial production phase for air vehicles. General Atomics brings decades of unmanned platform experience through its Predator and Reaper lineage. Anduril, founded in 2017, represents the newer defense-tech cohort and has moved quickly from prototypes to production-scale contracts.

The awards formalize a shift in Pentagon procurement strategy. Rather than selecting a single prime for a winner-take-all program, the Air Force is running dual production lines. The approach mirrors the Navy's Virginia-class submarine model and reflects lessons from over-reliance on consolidated primes in fifth-generation fighter programs.

CCA is designed around attritable economics. The aircraft are intended to cost a fraction of manned fighters, allowing commanders to accept loss rates that would be politically unacceptable for crewed platforms. Whether the cost targets survive contact with production scale remains the operational question. Early prototypes and test articles often land in the low tens of millions per unit; serial production at volume will determine if the attritable thesis holds or if scope and capability creep push unit economics closer to legacy UAV programs.

The Air Force has not disclosed contract values or delivery timelines. Increment Two, expected to introduce additional capabilities and potentially additional vendors, is still in the requirements phase.