July 15, 2026 Air Force conducts live-fire test for Collaborative Combat Aircraft program The Department of the Air Force successfully conducted a live-fire test of a YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, firing an AIM-120 weapon at a digital target. The test demonstrates program maturity and operational validation while emphasizing the retention of human oversight for weapon release.
July 8, 2026 F-15EX returns to Pacific The 85th TES deployed the F-15EX Eagle II to Japan's Kadena AB to train with the 18th Wing and test human-machine teaming with an uncrewed MQ-28 Ghost Bat, advancing Defense of War’s lethality goals in the Indo-Pacific.
June 17, 2026 Air Force advances future of air superiority with CCA contracts The DAF awarded contracts to develop and produce its first-generation Collaborative Combat Aircraft, while creating a competitive marketplace for mission-autonomy software from six vendors.
April 23, 2026 USAF, Netherlands formalize partnership on Collaborative Combat Aircraft development The Department of the Air Force and the Netherlands Ministry of Defence have formalized a partnership to acquire prototype Collaborative Combat Aircraft, advancing a shared strategy to bring greater affordable mass to deter, and if necessary, defeat adversaries.
April 16, 2026 Experimental Operations Unit accelerates Collaborative Combat Aircraft program The Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit, under Air Combat Command, concluded a critical exercise with Collaborative Combat Aircraft recently at Edwards Air Force Base, putting principles of the new Warfighting Acquisition System into practice.
Feb. 23, 2026 Collaborative Combat Aircraft program progresses through deliberate weapons integration testing The Air Force has entered the next phase of developmental testing for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
Feb. 12, 2026 Air Force validates open architecture, expands Collaborative Combat Aircraft ecosystem The CCA program validates a modular, open-systems approach, allowing the Air Force to rapidly integrate the best technology from any vendor to equip the warfighter faster.
Dec. 22, 2025 Air Force designates Northrop Grumman’s Talon prototype as YFQ-48A The U.S. Air Force announces the designation of YFQ-48A as the Mission Design Series for Northrop Grumman’s Project Talon, a semi-autonomous prototype aircraft, underscoring the Air Force’s commitment to rapidly delivering next-generation capabilities.
Aug. 27, 2025 Collaborative Combat Aircraft, YFQ-42A takes to the air for flight testing The Department of the Air Force reached a key development milestone in its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, with one of its prototype platforms taking flight in less than two years from program launch.
May 30, 2025 CSAF underscores Beale's role in forging the future force Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin visited Beale Air Force Base to showcase the base's role in shaping the future force.
May 16, 2025 Around the Air Force: SECAF Confirmation, Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Aerial Wildfire Suppression In this week’s look Around the Air Force, Dr. Troy Meink is confirmed as Secretary of the Air Force, a milestone for integrating automated aircraft systems, and Air Guard units and civilian flight crews join forces for aerial wildfire suppression training.
May 2, 2025 CSAF Update to the Force Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin's letter to Airmen on Air Force’s strategic direction
May 1, 2025 DAF begins ground testing for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, selects Beale AFB as the preferred location for aircraft readiness unit The Department of the Air Force has begun ground testing for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, marking a major milestone in its effort to integrate autonomous systems into the future force.
Feb. 11, 2025 A new era in testing: USAF TPS partners with Stanford, Silicon Valley for AI, emerging technologies course This historic collaboration marks the school’s first major engagement with academia in recent memory and is part of a broader effort to prepare future military test leaders for the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, data-driven systems, and autonomous technologies.
Jan. 3, 2025 Around the Air Force Year in Review: Great Power Competition, Realignment for Readiness, and Housing Feedback System In this week’s look around the Air Force, we look back at three significant stories from 2024: SECAF highlights key accomplishments and emphasizes GPC, the Air Force realigns to maintain future competitiveness, and the DoD launches a new online housing feedback system to improve quality of life.
Sept. 20, 2024 Around the Air Force: Great Power Competition, Realignment for Readiness, and Housing Feedback System In this week’s look around the Air Force, SecAF Frank Kendall highlights accomplishments and emphasizes Reoptimization, AF realigns structure to maintain competitiveness, and DoD launches an online housing feedback system.
Sept. 16, 2024 Kendall highlights accomplishments, urgency to finish transitioning to Great Power Competition Conceding that his future as secretary is connected to the outcome of November’s election, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall used a high-profile keynote address Sept. 16 to highlight achievements modernizing and reshaping the Air Force and Space Force while also emphasizing unfinished work
Sept. 9, 2024 AFRL to highlight tech to ‘achieve decisive advantage in an age of growing threats’ at 2024 Air, Space and Cyber Conference The Air Force Research Laboratory will showcase war-winning technologies to drive the future fight in an era of Great Power Competition at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference.
April 24, 2024 Air Force exercises two Collaborative Combat Aircraft option awards The CCA program is part of the Next Generation Air Dominance Family of Systems, which is a DAF effort to equip the force with crewed and uncrewed platforms that can meet the pacing challenge.
June 21, 2023 DAF chief scientist, MIT host AI workshop Dr. Victoria Coleman, chief scientist of the Air Force, in collaboration with the Department of the Air Force-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Artificial Intelligence Accelerator, hosted a foundational innovation and technology education workshop June 5-8.