Mission autonomy software program by Collins and Defend AI was built-in on the YFQ-42 and YFQ-44 CCAs through the use of the government-owned A-GRA structure.
The U.S. Air Power has reached a brand new milestone in its Collaborative Fight Plane (CCA) program, demonstrating that government-owned Autonomy Authorities Reference Structure (A-GRA) may be efficiently built-in with mission autonomy software program. As a part of this effort, Normal Atomics’ YFQ-42A and Anduril’s YFQ-44A have been built-in with mission autonomy software program offered by Collins Aerospace and Defend AI, respectively.
The testing focuses on proving that mission software program may be quickly ported between platforms, creating what the Air Power describes as a aggressive and adaptable ecosystem for future autonomous air fight techniques. The service explains this validates a core precept of the brand new acquisition technique: decoupling software program from {hardware} by an open, modular structure to speed up innovation and keep away from dependence on a single vendor – the so-called “vendor lock.”
No extra vendor lock. Simply innovation & competitors to get the most effective tech to the warfighter, sooner.
— Normal Ken Wilsbach (@OfficialCSAF) February 12, 2026
“Verifying A-GRA throughout a number of companions is crucial to our acquisition technique,” stated Col. Timothy Helfrich, Portfolio Acquisition govt for Fighters and Superior Plane. “It proves that we’re not locked right into a single answer or a single vendor. We’re as an alternative constructing a aggressive ecosystem the place the most effective algorithms may be deployed quickly to the warfighter on any A-GRA compliant platform, whatever the vendor offering the algorithm.
Software program-first strategy
The Air Power’s CCA idea envisions massive numbers of uncrewed plane working alongside crewed fighters such because the F-35 and the long run F-47. As soon as generally known as “loyal wingmen,” these plane at the moment are anticipated to carry out missions starting from reconnaissance and strike to digital warfare and decoy operations. The service has beforehand famous it intends to discipline in the long run at the least 1,000 CCAs in numerous configurations.
As an integral a part of the CCA program, the service wished to exhibit the interoperability between mission autonomy software program and airframes constructed by completely different producers. This fashion the software program won’t be restricted to a single plane kind, and may be built-in on newer CCAs in future.
The A-GRA commonplace is designed as a Modular Open Methods Method (MOSA), one thing that has turn out to be a recurring side of latest improvement applications of the U.S. army, as we regularly reported right here at The Aviationist. With the primary focus of MOSA being the power to simply combine and improve elements on an plane, the strategy ensures that autonomy algorithms may be swapped or upgraded with out the necessity for intensive modifications to the plane itself.
“We’re seeing the imaginative and prescient of a modular, adaptable drive come to life,” the Agile Improvement Workplace director stated. “Integrating A-GRA onto a number of platforms so rapidly demonstrates that our open-system strategy works. It permits us to iterate ways and capabilities throughout the fleet at a tempo that retains us forward of the risk.”
YFQ-42A completes semi-autonomous mission
Following the U.S. Air Power’s assertion, Normal Atomics Aeronautical Methods (GA-ASI) introduced that its YFQ-42A has efficiently accomplished the primary semi-autonomous airborne mission utilizing third-party autonomy software program provided by Collins Aerospace. Collins’ Sidekick Collaborative Mission Autonomy software program was built-in by the A-GRA framework.
Through the check, the autonomy software program was activated from the Floor Station Console (GSC), and a human operator transmitted mission instructions on to the plane, which executed them precisely for greater than 4 hours, says the corporate. A strong and dependable information change was established between the autonomy software program and the plane’s mission techniques, with the check highlighting each the effectiveness of Sidekick’s capabilities and the pliability of the A-GRA structure.
“We’re excited to collaborate with Collins to ship enhanced autonomous mission options,” stated David R. Alexander, president of GA-ASI. “The mixing of Sidekick with our YFQ-42A demonstrates our dedication to innovation and operational excellence in unmanned plane know-how.”
Collins Aerospace characterised the flight as proof of the maturity of its autonomy portfolio. That maturity is alleged to have allowed to conduct a speedy integration and transfer to mission execution in a really brief time, though the timeframe has not been specified.
“The autonomy capabilities showcased on this flight spotlight our devoted funding to advance collaborative mission autonomy,” stated Ryan Bunge, vice chairman and basic supervisor for Strategic Protection Options, Collins Aerospace, an RTX enterprise. “The speedy integration of Sidekick onto this Normal Atomics platform and its quick means to assist a broad spectrum of combat-relevant behaviors underscores the power and adaptability of our open techniques strategy.”
The YFQ-42A check builds on a improvement timeline that started in August 2025 with the plane’s first flight. Since then, Normal Atomics has flown a number of prototypes, with three seen in the newest photograph, and performed demonstrations of autonomous takeoffs and landings utilizing separate flight autonomy software program.
Future YFQ-44A flight demo
In parallel, Defend AI confirmed its choice as a mission autonomy supplier for the Air Power’s CCA program, following a aggressive Know-how Maturity and Danger Discount (TMRR) analysis. The corporate’s Hivemind autonomy software program has already been built-in onto Anduril’s YFQ-44A by A-GRA and is now present process system-level testing.
The U.S. Air Power simply made autonomy software program as necessary because the plane.
The @usairforce chosen Hivemind for the Collaborative Fight Plane (CCA) program, the primary time mission autonomy software program has been decoupled from the plane. Hivemind has efficiently… pic.twitter.com/jq08TtR4Xs
— Defend AI (@shieldaitech) February 13, 2026
Anduril, in actual fact, has been “working in very shut collaboration with Defend AI for the final a number of months,” Jason Levin, the agency’s senior vice chairman of engineering, stated in an announcement, including “[we] stay up for flying YFQ-44A with their software program onboard very quickly.”
In its assertion, Defend AI stated “Hivemind assumes the position of a human pilot or operator, enabling unmanned protection techniques to sense, determine, and act.” The corporate additional emphasised that its software program can reroute the YFQ-44 round no-fly zones, reply to sudden situations, and full missions with out direct human intervention.
Gary Steele, Defend AI’s CEO, described the choice as validation of years of improvement work: “The Air Power is transferring with urgency to discover how autonomy can reshape air fight, and we now have spent years making ready for this—constructing, testing, and flying mission autonomy in the actual world.”
Hivemind has beforehand been demonstrated on a variety of platforms, as we regularly reported right here at The Aviationist, together with Normal Atomics’ MQ-20 Avenger, U.S. Navy BQM-177 goal drones, and helicopters. This cross-platform portfolio aligns carefully with the Air Power’s goal of constructing autonomy software program platform-agnostic.
What this implies for future airpower
The Air Power views CCAs as drive multipliers, slightly than replacements for crewed fighters. Their position will likely be to enhance human pilots throughout complicated missions, taking over the riskier missions, conserving pilots protected whereas creating attritable mass.
Furthermore, by permitting a single crewed plane to command a number of uncrewed wingmen, the service additionally hopes to broaden sensor protection and complicate adversary defenses. The latter is a facet to not be dismissed as a result of, with the plane internet hosting modular payloads that may be rapidly swapped, air defenses wouldn’t solely have the issue of a number of targets to counter without delay, however they might additionally should prioritize them primarily based on the capabilities they may or couldn’t have.
As beforehand reported right here The Aviationist, the Air Power’s long-term objective is just not merely to construct the 2 prototype drones which can be already flying, however to determine a scalable framework by which a number of producers and software program suppliers can compete to ship improved autonomy, sensors, and mission techniques. This will likely be carried out with subsequent “Increments,” the place the YFQ-42 and YFQ-44 are a part of Increment 1 and new plane will likely be chosen for the Increment 2 within the close to future.
As proven by the milestones of the CCA applications in these months, this framework is starting to take tangible kind. On the identical time, the profitable use of A-GRA throughout two completely different plane and two completely different mission autonomy suppliers supply a brand new demonstration of “plug-and-play” functionality of MOSA-based techniques.
