What Both CCA Aircraft at Creech Mean for Air Force Integration

Original AFA Connect reporting. Facts are attributed to the public records and reporting listed below. Report a factual error.

Sources and records

• Collaborative Combat Aircraft arrive at Creech AFB, advancing operational integration — U.S. Air Force
• CCA Builders Start Revving Production Rates, as They Await 2027 Funding — Air & Space Forces Magazine
• Collaborative Combat Aircraft, YFQ-42A takes to the air for flight testing — Defense Visual Information Distribution Service

Image: Courtesy photo / Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs via DVIDS

The Air Force says both competing Collaborative Combat Aircraft designs are now at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, placing them in a shared venue for Air Combat Command-led operational experimentation alongside crewed combat aircraft.

The service announced Sept. 24 that the experimentation will evaluate uncrewed systems and refine how they could be employed alongside crewed combat aircraft. The milestone expands the setting for operational learning after earlier exercises involving the FQ-44A.

Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that General Atomics delivered an FQ-42A to Creech on Sept. 18 and that Anduril delivered an FQ-44A in August. The magazine also reported that the Anduril aircraft had participated in Experimental Operations Unit exercises in April and July before that delivery.

What the move changes

Putting both designs at the same base means Air Combat Command can experiment with each aircraft in a shared setting. The preserved official summary establishes that purpose. Independent reporting describes company-attributed exercise activity, but the preserved sources do not provide independently validated comparative performance or readiness results.

The move follows separate delivery timelines and earlier exercises involving one of the aircraft. Together, the available evidence shows that both aircraft are now available for experimentation at Creech; it does not establish that either is ready for combat.

The distinction is important because the arrival itself does not establish a binding delivery schedule or prove that a fleet at scale is funded. Air & Space Forces reported an Air Force goal of fielding at least 500 CCAs by 2032. The Air Force selected both designs in April 2024 and awarded initial production contracts to both companies in June 2026; those completed steps and the stated goal are distinct from unresolved fiscal 2027 funding, fleet quantities and follow-on acquisition choices. The preserved evidence supports a narrower conclusion: Air Combat Command can now conduct operational experimentation with both aircraft at Creech.

What to watch next

Future Air Force releases may show whether the experimentation produces repeatable employment concepts alongside crewed aircraft. The preserved sources report company-described exercise activity and the Air Force's 2032 fielding goal, but they do not provide independently validated comparative metrics or a binding fielding schedule. Any assessment of comparative workload, reliability, readiness or mission effectiveness therefore remains premature.

Follow-on production scale remains a separate decision. Air & Space Forces reported that both companies are preparing manufacturing capacity while awaiting fiscal 2027 funding. The Air Force has already selected both designs and awarded initial production contracts; that industrial momentum should not be confused with a funded fleet at scale or a settled long-term quantity.

The Creech milestone is best read as an expansion of the test environment. The Air Force has moved both designs into Air Combat Command-led experimentation at one base, preserving a common setting for future comparisons. If the service later publishes measured results, those data can inform acquisition choices. Until then, claims of operational readiness or a settled production outcome would run ahead of the evidence.

Sources: U.S. Air Force announcement; Air & Space Forces Magazine reporting. The featured photograph is a cropped official file image from Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs via DVIDS. The appearance of U.S. Department of War visual information does not imply or constitute Department of War endorsement.