US Air Force seeks companies for next-gen semi-autonomous collaborative combat aircraft

Market Research Notice Issued

The U.S. Air Force published a Sources Sought notice on July 24, 2026, seeking companies capable of designing, developing, prototyping, manufacturing, and fielding a Next Generation Semi-Autonomous Collaborative Platform. Responses are due August 10, 2026.

The notice explicitly states that no contract award is planned from this market research step.

Background and Purpose

The notice was issued by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Fighter and Advanced Aircraft division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. It carries the formal designation of a Sources Sought synopsis—a government notice type used solely to identify which companies could theoretically perform the work, not to initiate procurement.

The Air Force made this distinction explicit, stating that the announcement does not obligate the government and that the service has no intention of awarding a contract or paying for any information submitted in response.

What Is an Autonomous Collaborative Platform?

Known across the Pentagon by the acronym ACP, this type of aircraft represents one of the most significant shifts in American airpower in decades. Unlike traditional drones piloted remotely by an operator watching a video feed, an ACP uses onboard autonomy and artificial intelligence to navigate, maneuver, and employ weapons largely on its own. A human pilot in a crewed fighter—such as an F-35 or F-22—acts more like a mission commander directing a team than a joystick operator controlling every input.

Current Program Status

The U.S. Air Force has already moved this concept beyond the drawing board:

• General Atomics flew its YFQ-42A prototype for the first time in August 2025.
• Northrop Grumman's semi-autonomous prototype, originally developed under the internal name Project Talon, earned the official designation YFQ-48A in December 2025.

Both aircraft represent the opening round of a broader effort called Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).

Increment 1 Progress

The first round, known as Increment 1, is moving from prototype flights toward production. According to program tracking published by Shephard Media:

• The Air Force awarded production contracts to Anduril and General Atomics in June 2026.
• The contracts cover the first 150 aircraft.
• Delivery is expected before the end of the decade.

Future Ambitions

The Air Force has signaled ambitions to field between several hundred and roughly 1,000 CCAs by the early 2030s—a scale that would require bringing in additional manufacturers beyond those that won the earliest contracts. This week's Sources Sought notice for a Next Generation ACP functions as an early step toward identifying companies that might compete for future increments.

Strategic Rationale

The program addresses a strategic problem the Air Force has been wrestling with for years: crewed fighters alone, no matter how advanced, cannot generate enough combat mass to reliably outnumber and outlast a determined adversary like China in a prolonged fight.

Building enough traditional manned fighters to match that numerical challenge would cost more than Congress has shown appetite to fund. The Air Force settled on a cheaper alternative: pairing a smaller number of expensive, sophisticated piloted jets with a much larger number of less expensive, semi-autonomous aircraft that can:

• Absorb risk
• Extend sensor range
• Carry additional weapons
• Be shot down without costing a pilot's life

Air Force leadership has described this "affordable mass" approach as fundamentally changing how the service expects to fight future air campaigns. This philosophy is reinforced by the branch's own engine development push—GE Aerospace received a contract in May 2026 to mature a new engine specifically built for the ACP program's medium thrust class of aircraft.

What the Notice Does Not Reveal

The notice does not disclose:

• Specific requirements or performance benchmarks for the Next Generation ACP
• How it might differ technologically from Increment 1 designs already in flight testing
• The timeline the Air Force envisions for fielding this follow-on platform

These details will likely emerge only after the service finishes surveying the market and decides to move forward with a formal solicitation—a step that could come months or even years after this week's notice, depending on how quickly the Air Force wants to expand its CCA fleet beyond the first 150 aircraft already under contract.