The US Air Force has named its first Collaborative Combat Aircraft systems Vengeance and Fury, assigning the General Atomics FQ-42 the Vengeance name and Anduril’s FQ-44 the Fury name. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink unveiled the designations during his keynote at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, alongside a revised production goal of 500 CCA aircraft by 2032.
The naming gives the service’s autonomous combat aircraft programme its first official service monikers after years of prototype-style identifiers. It also sharpens the Air Force’s public message to industry as it pushes toward a much larger long-term fleet of about 1,000 autonomous combat aircraft. The two initial aircraft are being developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Anduril Industries as the opening increment of the CCA effort.
The new target is a notable increase from earlier planning, which had pointed to a smaller initial buy. By setting a 2032 fielding goal for 500 aircraft, the Air Force is signalling that it expects suppliers to scale production quickly while the programme moves from development into operational expansion.