US Navy awards CCA design and development contracts to four companies

The US Navy has awarded four companies contracts of undisclosed value to design and develop armed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs). A fifth company has won a contract, also of undisclosed value, to build a common control system. No in-service date has been released, however.

Although neither US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) or the companies companies themselves have made official statements, the contracts have been widely reported by US and UK specialist media outlets.

The CCA-type aircraft will be developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) and Anduril, both of whom have CCA design and development contracts from the US Air Force; and Boeing and Northrop Grumman. Lockheed Martin will build a common control system, based on its MDCX autonomy platform.

The US online publication Breaking Defense has seen a presentation slide prepared by the US Navy’s Program Executive Officer (PEO) Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons listing the five companies; the Navy confirmed the accuracy of the document but declined to comment.

The slide says the US Navy wants “uncrewed, modular, interoperable, interchangeable and versatile platforms” that can operate from the service’s 11 aircraft carriers. The US Navy has been extremely secretive about its plans for both a CCA and a 6^th generation, or F/A-XX, combat aircraft and has bound its contractors similarly.

Boeing has referred media enquiries to the US Navy while the other four companies have kept comment to a minimum, with no product information leaking out of them at all, except for Lockheed Martin whose MDCX common control system was tested and demonstrated by the Navy in 2024.

GA-ASI and Anduril are already down-selected for the USAF’s CCA program, offering the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, respectively – the YFQ-42A is now in flight test with the -44A due to follow soon.

The US Navy already has an autonomous carrier-based aircraft under development, the MQ-25A Stingray, which carries 15,000lb of transferable fuel and will refuel US Navy aircraft in flight, up to 500nm from the carrier. This aircraft underwent its first carrier flight deck compatibility trials in 2021 and it is scheduled to enter service with US Navy some time next year.