Overview
- The Collaborative Combat Aircraft Experimental Operations Unit ran Agile Combat Employment sorties at Creech Air Force Base, moving CCAs out of sterile test ranges into dispersed, operational flights.
- Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center teams observed the exercise under a new rapid operational testing process designed to gather field-relevant data earlier than traditional test pipelines.
- The exercise integrated CCAs with manned aircraft in the same airspace to test distributed operations, sortie reliability, and extended range for projecting power from dispersed locations.
- The operational experiment builds on recent program milestones, including prototype flights in 2025 and an early July live-fire AIM-120 shot by an Anduril YFQ-44A that validated weapons integration.
- Officials say the program is intentionally embedding pilots and crews to shape tactics and requirements now so the service can accelerate Increment 1 production and plan for larger CCA fleets.