The U.S. Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) is focused on putting operational Air Force personnel in the loop early, enabling the experimentation with concepts of employment, mission planning, logistics, and sustainment required to accelerate operational fielding of Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Four months ago, EOU operators launched, recovered, and sustained YFQ-44A for the first time, an important step in taking CCA from prototype to credible combat capability. Last month, during our second exercise with the EOU at Creech Air Force Base, we took the next steps down the path to operational fielding of production FQ-44 fighters.
The exercise increased the task complexity and expanded the responsibilities owned by Air Force personnel. EOU operators tasked the aircraft throughout the various stages of mission execution from multiple locations, demonstrating the disaggregated control required to reduce manpower requirements and turn CCA sorties from austere bases. Operational users also directly oversaw daily mission autonomy flights with YFQ-44A for the first time, using mission autonomy to execute operationally-relevant tactics and maneuvers throughout the event.
The exercise built on the foundation established at the first EOU exercise in April, once again showcasing how YFQ-44A is simple to operate, maintain, and sustain. A week of on-time, high-tempo flight operations — including multiple days with multiple sorties per day — is a testament to both the maturity of the aircraft and EOU operators’ increasing familiarity with the system. This latest EOU exercise is tangible evidence that the operational procedures and trust required to field FQ-44 at scale are taking shape.
Regular testing and experimentation with operational end users is central to how the CCA program will deliver a combat credible capability quickly. The event marked the first of the thousands of sorties that prototype YFQ-44A and production FQ-44 semi-autonomous fighter aircraft will fly out of Creech in the coming years, adding to the legacy of an installation that has been at the center of the Air Force’s uncrewed aircraft enterprise for decades.
We look forward to deepening our collaboration Air Force operators in every exercise still yet to come, each of which represents an important step on the pathway from prototype to operational capability.
