The Air Force has called for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft to enter service by 2030, and the Mission Design Series designation is the crucial next step as the development continues.

Last year, Anduril and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) were awarded contracts to continue developing the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), the unmanned aerial system (UAS) component of the United States Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, even as the larger system-of-systems effort remained unclear.

In November 2024, Anduril’s “Fury” and GA-ASI’s “Gambit” unmanned aerial systems passed their respective critical design reviews (CDRs), and both are on track to make their maiden flights sometime this year. The CDR was a key milestone in Increment 1 for the program and cleared the companies to move to the production phase.

This week, the Air Force announced that the drone aircraft had received their formal Mission Design Series designations, with GA-ASI’s now known as the YFG-42A, while Anduril’s is the FYQ-44A. The air service described each as “representing the first in a new generation of uncrewed fighter aircraft,” and added that “both will be crucial in securing air superiority for the Joint Force in future conflicts.” 

The Air Force has called for the CAA to enter service by 2030, and the Mission Design Series (MDS) designation is the crucial next step as the development continues. The MDS designation is meant to provide “a standardized framework” that will be used to identify and classify the respective aircraft.

“Now we have two prototypes of Collaborative Combat Aircraft,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin in a statement on Monday. “They were only on paper less than a couple of years ago, and they are going to be ready to fly this summer.”

Allvin added in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, “Receiving a Mission Design Series designation is a big step in the military aviation world…this demonstrates incredible progress toward the Department of Defense’s (DoD) charge to match threats to capabilities.”

Why The Y, F, Q and A?

Understanding the new MDS requires a bit of explanation for those who don’t closely follow the development of prototype aircraft. The first thing to know is that eventually, one of the two aircraft will, likely but not certainly, be redesignated in the future, with the Y being dropped, as “Y” is the status prefix that denotes the aircraft is in the prototype stage. “Y” is no longer used once an aircraft enters the production phase.

The “F” designates its “Basic Mission,” which in this case would be a fighter. That could mean that additional CCAs will be developed to fill other roles within the CCA program. “Q” designates the “Vehicle Type,” which is for an “Unmanned Aircraft.” 

The respective “Design Numbers” are 42 and 44. It is also unclear if there was a forty-three that was considered at an earlier design stage, possibly before GA-ASI and Anduril were awarded the respective contracts last year.

Finally, the “A” after the model number denotes that the “Series,” which in this case is the “1st Version,” and as noted, it is likely the program could be further expanded with additional aircraft as the CCA envisioned that these UAVs would serve as “loyal wingmen” and take on numerous roles in support of a sixth-generation fighter. 

There has also been speculation the CCA could work alongside the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, the future long-range strategic bomber that is on track to enter service later this decade.

“For the first time in our history, we have a fighter designation in the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A,” Allvin added. “It may be just symbolic, but we are telling the world we are leaning into a new chapter of aerial warfare. It means collaborative combat aircraft, it means human-machine teaming. We are developing those capabilities thinking, ‘mission first.'”

The Air Force further announced it would continue to work with the defense contractors “to mature the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A prototypes” as the aircraft are put “through rigorous testing and evaluation.”

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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