We now have our first actual look at General Atomics’ YFQ-42A ‘fighter drone’ prototype. The YFQ-42A, as well as Anduril’s YFQ-44A, are being developed under the first phase, or Increment 1, of the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, and both designs are expected to make their maiden flights later this year.
我们现在首次实际看到了通用原子公司的 YFQ-42A“战斗无人机”原型机。YFQ-42A 以及 Anduril 的 YFQ-44A，均在美国空军协同作战飞机（CCA）项目的第一阶段，即增量 1 阶段开发，预计两款设计都将在今年晚些时候完成首飞。
Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force Gen. David Allvin shared the picture of the YFQ-42A seen at the top of this story on social media today. The Air Force had announced the start of ground testing of both Increment 1 CCA designs on May 1, at which time the first images of a Anduril’s YFQ-44A were also released.
美国空军参谋长大卫·奥尔文将军今天在社交媒体上分享了本文开头所见的 YFQ-42A 照片。空军于 5 月 1 日宣布开始对两款增量 1 CCA 设计进行地面测试，同时首次发布了 Anduril 的 YFQ-44A 的图片。
“THE WORLD’s FIRST LOOK AT OUR NEW YFQ-42A!” Allvin wrote in an accompanying post on X. “As the @DeptofDefense matches threats to capabilities under @SecDef’s [Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s] leadership, Collaborative Combat Aircraft will prove not only cost-effective, but truly lethal…No doubts these uncrewed fighters will put our adversaries on notice!”
“全球首次亮相我们的新型 YFQ-42A！”Allvin 在 X 平台的配文中写道。“随着@国防部在@国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯领导下，将威胁与能力相匹配，协同作战飞机不仅将证明其具有成本效益，更将真正致命……毫无疑问，这些无人战斗机将向我们的对手发出警告！”
“The YFQ-42A is an exciting next step for our company,” David Alexander, President of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., said in a separate statement. “It reflects many years of partnership with the U.S. Air Force of advancing unmanned combat aviation for the United States and its allies around the world, and we’re excited to begin ground testing and move to first flight.”
“YFQ-42A 是我们公司令人振奋的下一步发展，”通用原子航空系统公司总裁 David Alexander 在另一份声明中表示。“它体现了我们与美国空军多年来在推进美国及其全球盟友无人作战航空领域的合作，我们很高兴开始地面测试并迈向首次飞行。”
What can be seen in the head-on view of the YFQ-42A we now have is largely in line with renderings and physical models that General Atomics has shown in the past. The design has some low-observable (stealthy) features and shares some broad similarities with past company designs like the Avenger. It is also notably less slender than Anduril’s YFQ-44A, which could offer advantages and disadvantages.
我们现在看到的 YFQ-42A 正面视图，与通用原子公司过去展示的渲染图和实体模型大体一致。该设计具有一些低可探测性（隐身）特征，并且在整体上与该公司过去的设计如 Avenger 有一定相似之处。它也明显比 Anduril 的 YFQ-44A 更为粗壮，这可能带来优点和缺点。
通用原子公司此前发布的 YFQ-42A 设计图像。通用原子公司
General Atomics has also previously confirmed that its CCA design is derived from the experimental XQ-67A drone originally developed for the Air Force’s once-secretive Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) program. A core aspect of OBSS was a so-called ‘genus/species’ concept, involving a core ‘genus’ set of components from which multiple ‘species’ of differently configured drones could be crafted, lessons from which the Air Force has said are being incorporated broadly into the CCA program. General Atomics has been further proving that concept out via its Gambit family of drones, which all feature a common ‘chassis’ that incorporates landing gear, as well as key mission and flight control computer systems. The XQ-67A has been flying for more than a year now, offering General Atomics a valuable risk reduction asset for its CCA work, as well.
通用原子公司此前也确认，其 CCA 设计源自最初为空军曾经保密的“机载外部传感站”（OBSS）项目开发的实验性 XQ-67A 无人机。OBSS 的核心理念之一是所谓的“属/种”概念，即基于一套核心“属”组件，打造多种不同配置的“种”类无人机。空军表示，从中获得的经验教训正在广泛应用于 CCA 项目。通用原子公司通过其 Gambit 系列无人机进一步验证了这一概念，这些无人机都采用了统一的“底盘”，集成了起落架以及关键的任务和飞行控制计算机系统。XQ-67A 已飞行超过一年，为通用原子公司的 CCA 工作提供了宝贵的风险降低资产。
下方为 XQ-67A 的图片，上方为通用原子公司的隐形 Avenger 无人机。该公司还利用 MQ-20 支持 CCA 及其他先进无人机的开发。通用原子公司
Though partially obscured by the flight-test data probe, there is a notably different colored section on the bottom of the front of the nose with what looks to be a grill and an additional feature of some kind above it, the purpose of which is not immediately clear. Past renderings of the General Atomics CCA design have shown a trapezoidal window in the same general location, a feature typically associated with forward-facing electro-optical and/or infrared sensor systems.
尽管部分被飞行测试数据探针遮挡，机头前部底部有一段颜色明显不同的区域，上面似乎有一个格栅，并且其上方还有某种附加装置，其用途尚不明确。此前通用原子公司的 CCA 设计渲染图显示，在大致相同的位置有一个梯形窗户，这一特征通常与前置电光和/或红外传感系统相关联。
左侧为 YFQ-42A 原型机的机头，右侧为通用原子公司 CCA 设计的机头渲染图对比。美国空军/通用原子公司
As TWZ has noted in the past, the position under the nose could be a likely location for an infrared search and track (IRST) sensor. IRSTs can spot stealthy targets and offer other benefits, and would align with the air-to-air combat role that is expected to be the main focus of the Increment 1 CCAs, at least initially. General Atomics has been separately using its stealthy Avenger drones to demonstrate potential air-to-air combat capabilities, including while equipped with podded IRST systems.
正如 TWZ 过去所指出的，机头下方的位置可能是红外搜索与跟踪（IRST）传感器的理想安装点。IRST 能够探测隐形目标并提供其他优势，这与预计至少在初期阶段，增量 1 型协同作战飞机（CCA）主要聚焦的空对空作战角色相符。通用原子公司也一直利用其隐形 Avenger 无人机展示潜在的空对空作战能力，包括配备吊舱式 IRST 系统时的表现。
Anduril’s YFQ-44A also notably has what appears to be a forward-facing camera system prominently on top of its nose, which could, at least, be used to provide visual inputs for control and additional situational awareness during initial testing. General Atomics’ YFQ-42A prototype could have a broadly similar system installed in its nose.
Anduril 的 YFQ-44A 机头顶部也显著配备了一个前置摄像系统，至少可以在初期测试中为控制和额外的态势感知提供视觉输入。通用原子公司的 YFQ-42A 原型机的机头可能安装了类似的系统。
What may be the doors for the YFQ-42A’s ventral payload bay are also visible, along with the drone’s tricycle landing gear.
YFQ-42A 腹部有效载荷舱的舱门可能也可见，同时还能看到该无人机的三点式起落架。
原型机 YFQ-42A 的另一张裁剪视图，重点展示了其起落架以及可能是腹部有效载荷舱开启的舱门。美国空军
“I think CCA can actually be, in some cases, a mobility aircraft,” Mike Atwood, vice president for Advanced Programs at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), had said during a panel discussion at the Air & Space Forces Association’s (AFA) 2025 Warfare Symposium in March. “One of the reasons that GA chose to have an internal weapons bay was for carrying not just missiles and kinetics, but to do that logistics.”
“我认为协同作战飞机（CCA）在某些情况下实际上可以是一种机动性飞机，”通用原子航空系统公司（GA-ASI）高级项目副总裁迈克·阿特伍德在 2025 年空军与太空力量协会（AFA）战争研讨会三月的一个小组讨论中表示。“GA 选择采用内部武器舱的原因之一，不仅是为了携带导弹和动能武器，还为了执行后勤任务。”
“We showed up at these World War II leftover airfields. And we quickly realized these airfields are in really bad shape, really bad shape, and we started to really appreciate runway distance,” Atwood had also said at AFA’s annual Warfare Symposium. “It’s hard to make a fast-moving aircraft use a lot less runway. And so what we realized is we needed a trailing-arm landing gear.”
“我们抵达了这些二战遗留下来的机场。很快我们意识到这些机场状况非常糟糕，非常糟糕，我们开始真正重视跑道长度，”阿特伍德在 AFA 年度战争研讨会上也曾表示。“让一架高速飞机使用更短的跑道非常困难。所以我们意识到需要采用拖臂式起落架。”
A trailing-arm landing gear arrangement helps ease the impact of landing, which in turn can help reduce wear and tear, something that is especially beneficial for operations from short and potentially rough fields. It can also similarly help with rough field takeoffs. The Air Force said that the Increment 1 CCAs are the first aircraft, crewed or uncrewed, to be developed from the ground up to align with its Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concepts of operations. ACE centers heavily on short-notice and otherwise irregular deployments, including to far-flung locations with limited infrastructure. You can read more about how the Air Force’s CCA vision aligns with ACE here.
拖臂式起落架布置有助于缓解着陆冲击，从而减少磨损，这对于从短跑道和可能崎岖的场地起降的作业尤为有利。它同样有助于崎岖场地的起飞。空军表示，增量 1 型 CCA 是首批从零开始开发、符合其敏捷作战部署（ACE）作战理念的有人或无人驾驶飞机。ACE 重点强调短时间内及其他不规则部署，包括到基础设施有限的偏远地区。您可以在这里了解更多关于空军 CCA 愿景如何与 ACE 相契合的信息。
As it stands now, the Air Force is still looking to acquire 1,000 CCAs, if not more, across a series of iterative development cycles. Service officials have previously said that between 100 and 150 Increment 1 CCAs could be acquired, but it remains unclear whether that fleet will consist of YFQ-42As, YFQ-44As, or a mix of both types.
目前，空军仍计划在一系列迭代开发周期中采购 1000 架甚至更多的协同作战飞机（CCA）。军方官员此前表示，可能会采购 100 至 150 架第一阶段的 CCA，但尚不清楚这支机队将由 YFQ-42A、YFQ-44A，还是两者的混合组成。
“A competitive Increment 1 production decision is expected in fiscal year 2026,” which begins on Oct. 1, 2025, the Air Force had said as part of the announcement about the start of ground testing at the beginning of the month.
“预计将在 2026 财年做出具有竞争性的增量 1 生产决策，”空军在本月初宣布开始地面测试时表示。2026 财年自 2025 年 10 月 1 日开始。
Anduril 的 YFQ-44A 原型机。图片由美国空军提供
The Air Force is now in the process of finalizing requirements for Increment 2 of CCA, which are expected to be significantly different from those for Increment 1. In March, Air Force Maj. Gen. Joseph D. Kunkel, director of Force Design, Integration, and Wargaming and deputy chief of staff for Air Force Futures, indicated that the second phase of the program could call for designs that are less complex and cheaper.
空军目前正在敲定 CCA 增量 2 的需求，预计这些需求将与增量 1 有显著不同。今年 3 月，空军力设计、整合与战争游戏主任兼空军未来副参谋长约瑟夫·D·昆克尔少将表示，项目第二阶段可能要求设计更简单且成本更低。
More details are likely to continue to emerge about the Increment 1 CCA designs, as well as other plans for the program, as the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A progress through ground testing toward their first flights.
随着 YFQ-42A 和 YFQ-44A 在地面测试中逐步推进，朝首次飞行迈进，关于增量 1 CCA 设计及该项目其他计划的更多细节可能会陆续披露。
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
联系作者：joe@twz.com
