Photo: Staff Sgt. Jake Jacobsen, U.S. Air Force (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons (source)
The U.S. Air Force said Thursday, Sept. 24, that both of its first Collaborative Combat Aircraft designs are now at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, moving the uncrewed fighter program from developmental flight testing to experimentation led by the airmen who will operate it.
The service's Experimental Operations Unit received Anduril's YFQ-44A Fury in August and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' YFQ-42A Vengeance the week before the announcement, Defence Industry Europe reported, citing the Air Force announcement. Air Combat Command will lead operational testing of both aircraft.
"Putting CCA in the hands of Airmen is how we build the operational future of this program," Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said. He said the two deliveries show the service can "move at incredible speed, compete, and deliver cost-effective combat power." Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said airmen "are excited to see what Collaborative Combat Aircraft can do."
What airmen will test
Crews at Creech have started evaluating the drones under representative conditions, including launching sorties with small teams from dispersed, austere sites rather than one large base, according to the Air Force statement. The testing will also look at what training, maintenance, staffing and facilities future CCA units will need, and results will shape how those units are organized and equipped for air superiority and other missions, Aero-News Network reported.
Production claims
General Atomics said in a Sept. 21 release that the Vengeance reached Creech on Sept. 18. The company said the FQ-42 has flown in formation with an F-35 and an F-15E, was picked in June for an initial production contract, and that it is "positioned to deliver six aircraft per month." It said it is building the jets with its own money "as government funding plans mature."
The War Zone published the company's first image of the Vengeance flying with the two crewed fighters. The outlet reported that the Air Force aims to start fielding both drone types around the end of the decade and that Fury fired an AIM-120 missile in a test earlier this year. A General Atomics executive told the outlet the company expects an air-to-air missile shot of its own "in the near future."
What's next
Both drones are scheduled to take part in their first large-force employment exercise in December, according to The War Zone.
Sources
- Defence Industry Europe: U.S. Air Force confirms Anduril Fury and General Atomics Vengeance have entered operational CCA testing at Creech AFB in Nevada (2026-09-24)
- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems: FQ-42 Vengeance Finds New Home at Creech Air Force Base (2026-09-21)
- The War Zone: General Atomics FQ-42A Vengeance CCA Now Flying Together With USAF Fighters (2026-09-21)
- Aero-News Network: Air Force Begins Operator-Led Testing Of Uncrewed Jets (2026-09-28)
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Added to the Motion Media archive on Sep. 28, 2026.
