The U.S. Navy has awarded General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) a contract to develop a carrier-based Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), signaling a pivotal step in the service’s Next Generation Air Dominance – Carrier Variant (NGAD-CV) program. This decision positions GA-ASI at the forefront of naval unmanned combat aviation and underscores the growing role of uncrewed systems in future carrier air wings.
GA-ASI’s Selection and the CCA Vision
On October 20, 2025, the U.S. Navy confirmed that it had selected GA-ASI to design and prototype a carrier-suitable CCA platform under an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement managed by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). The award is part of the broader NGAD-CV effort aimed at fielding a family of systems that includes manned fighters and autonomous wingmen operating from aircraft carriers by the early 2030s.
CCAs are envisioned as force multipliers—low-cost, attritable or expendable uncrewed aircraft capable of executing missions such as ISR, electronic warfare (EW), strike coordination, suppression/destruction of enemy air defenses (SEAD/DEAD), and even kinetic strike roles alongside manned platforms like the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet or its eventual successor under NGAD-CV.
GA-ASI’s offering is expected to leverage its experience with platforms like MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1C Gray Eagle while incorporating lessons from its previous naval UAV efforts including Sea Avenger—a proposed carrier-based variant of Predator C/Avenger—and its participation in DARPA’s LongShot air-launched UCAV project.
Carrier Suitability: A Complex Challenge
Designing an unmanned system capable of catapult launch and arrested recovery on Nimitz-class and Ford-class carriers presents unique challenges absent from land-based UCAV development. These include:
- Structural robustness: Reinforced landing gear and fuselage for high-impact arrested landings
- Foldable wings: For storage within constrained hangar deck spaces
- EMI hardening: To survive harsh electromagnetic environments aboard carriers
- C2 resilience: Reliable data links in contested maritime environments with limited bandwidth
The only operationally deployed fixed-wing UAV currently operating from U.S. carriers is Northrop Grumman’s MQ-25 Stingray—a tanker UAV designed primarily for aerial refueling but also serving as a stepping stone for more complex uncrewed operations at sea. The MQ-25 has demonstrated catapult launches and arrested landings aboard USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), validating foundational technologies for future CCAs.
Navy’s NGAD-CV Roadmap and MUM-T Integration
The CCA program is one component of the Navy’s broader NGAD-CV architecture—a successor to F/A-18E/Fs that will include both manned sixth-generation fighters and multiple tiers of autonomous systems operating in manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) configurations.
The goal is to extend reach, survivability, lethality, and persistence across distributed maritime operations against peer adversaries like China in contested A2/AD environments such as the South China Sea or Western Pacific.
The Navy envisions CCAs performing roles such as:
- Loyal wingman escort: Flying ahead or alongside manned fighters to absorb risk or extend sensor range
- Saturation attacks: Overwhelming enemy defenses with swarms of low-cost UCAVs
- Eloyalty operations: Executing pre-programmed missions with dynamic re-tasking via secure datalinks like Link-16 or MADL
This approach mirrors similar efforts by the U.S. Air Force under its own NGAD program—where Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat-inspired designs compete with offerings from Kratos and Lockheed Martin—as well as Australia’s Loyal Wingman program.
A Crowded Field: Competition Among OEMs
The selection of GA-ASI does not preclude other vendors from participating in future phases or spiral developments. Boeing Phantom Works has also been working on navalized unmanned concepts derived from its MQ-25 experience; Northrop Grumman—builder of X-47B—remains a potential player despite exiting earlier CCA competitions; Lockheed Martin Skunk Works continues internal development aligned with both USAF and USN requirements.
NAVAIR may downselect further after flight testing prototypes around FY27–FY28 timeframe before moving toward production decisions closer to FY30–FY31 when integration into carrier air wings becomes critical.
Tactical Implications for Carrier Strike Groups
If successful, CCAs could dramatically reshape CVW composition by reducing reliance on expensive manned platforms while increasing sortie rates through distributed massed effects. A typical future CVW might include:
- Manned sixth-gen fighters (~20–24 aircraft)
- MQ-25 tankers (~6 aircraft)
- Carrier-based CCAs (~30–40 UCAVs across multiple mission types)
- E/A–18G Growler replacements potentially augmented by EW-capable CCAs
This shift aligns with Chief of Naval Operations’ Force Design priorities emphasizing distributed lethality, attritable mass, AI-enabled autonomy, and resilient kill chains across Indo-Pacific scenarios where logistics access may be constrained.
Next Steps: Prototyping Toward Flight Testing
The OTA contract awarded to GA-ASI likely covers early design maturation through digital engineering models followed by subscale demonstrators or full-scale prototypes within two years. Ground testing—including structural loads analysis for carrier suitability—and software integration with existing C4ISR frameworks will precede any sea trials aboard CVNs.
If timelines hold, initial flight tests could occur around FY27 with operational test & evaluation beginning FY29–FY30 depending on budget stability under POM cycles and Congressional support for unmanned naval aviation modernization.
A Strategic Bet on Autonomy at Sea
The Navy’s bet on CCAs reflects broader DoD trends prioritizing autonomy-at-scale amid rising costs per tail number for fifth/sixth-gen fighters. By leveraging modular open systems architecture (MOSA), AI-enabled autonomy stacks, secure comms protocols like CMOSS/STANAG-compliant datalinks—and drawing lessons from Ukraine conflict regarding drone saturation—the service aims to build a more survivable force structure without compromising lethality or flexibility.
This latest move confirms that uncrewed combat aviation is no longer relegated to permissive ISR roles but central to high-end maritime warfare planning over coming decades.
