The United States Air Force has activated a new squadron, but instead of being built around manned aircraft flown by pilots, the new Experimental Operations Unit will help drive the operational capability for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that will serve alongside the service’s fleet of fifth and sixth generation aircraft.
The EOU was formally activated as a component of the 53rd Wing during a ceremony last week at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada. It had previously operated as a detachment since 2023. This elevation to a fully operational squadron equivalent underscores the Department of the Air Force’s focus on achieving CCA Increment 1 by the end of the decade.
This announcement comes just over a month after the DAF stated that it had begun ground testing for the CCA program, marking the latest milestone in the ongoing efforts to integrate autonomous systems.
The EOU Will Guide the CCA
According to the Air Force, the EOU will play a key role in the process, providing a proving ground for testing and refining human-machine teaming concepts for CCA in realistic scenarios.
“This is a pivotal moment for our force,” said Col. Daniel Lehoski, 53rd wing commander. “The EOU embodies our commitment to rapid innovation and ensuring our warfighters have the most advanced tools to dominate the future battlespace. They are ready to reduce risk in concurrency and deliver capability faster.”
The CCA took its proverbial flight in 2015 at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and it is a component of the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, which calls for a system of systems that include a manned sixth-generation fighter supported by unmanned aircraft acting as loyal wingmen. This will further extend the operational reach and increase the lethality of the manned aircraft in contested environments, while also enhancing its survivability.
Boeing was awarded the NGAD contract in March, when President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the fighter would be F-47.
The drones will also act as force multipliers for the F-47 and other manned fighters, while the UAVs could be potentially designed for specific missions. Moreover, the service has called for rapid deployment and “affordable mass,” meaning it can deliver combat power at just a fraction of the cost of today’s manned fighters. The technology can be easier to upgrade and refine, unlike traditional aircraft that take years to design, develop, and produce.
While upgrades and enhancements to the Air Force’s current fleet have kept Cold War-era fighters and bombers in service for decades, the updates are costly and time-consuming. The goal of the CCA program is to make combat aircraft more cost-effective to produce and upgrade as needs arise.
“We are here to accelerate the delivery of combat-ready capabilities to the warfighter,” explained Lt. Col. Matthew Jensen, EOU commander. “Our experimental operations will ensure that CCA are immediately viable as a credible combat capability that increases Joint Force survivability and lethality.”
EOU Will Direct CCA Development
According to the Air Force, the newly created EOU will integrate into the Virtual Warfare Center and the Joint Integrated Test and Training Center Nellis, where it will conduct realistic simulations and refine non-materiel considerations of CCA employment concepts in a virtual environment. The unit will conduct live-fly experiments to verify simulation results and optimize tactics, techniques, and procedures.
“Our vision is to create a collaborative combat ecosystem that is more agile, adaptable and lethal,” Jensen added. “This will enable our forces to dominate the future battlespace and achieve decisive advantages in complex, contested environments.”
Fury and Gambit Got the Green Light
Last fall, Anduril’s “Fury” and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ (GA-ASI’s) “Gambit” unmanned aerial systems (UAS) passed the critical design review. It came months after the two companies were awarded contracts to develop CCA prototypes. The designs from the two firms passed the critical design review (CDR) stage, clearing the way for the two companies to move to the production phase within Increment 1.
The Andrul and General Atomics UAS were selected over competing offerings from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman.
In March, Fury and Gambit received the designations YFQ-44A and YFQ-42A, respectively.
The ongoing ground tests have focused on each of the prototypes’ propulsion systems, avionics, autonomy integration, and ground control interfaces. Those assessments were meant to validate performance, inform future design decisions, and prepare the systems for flight testing later this year.
