Navy awards General Atomics Aeronautical Systems CCA design contract

The Navy has awarded a contract to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for the design of a collaborative combat aircraft, according to a company announcement today.

The announcement follows reporting from Breaking Defense last month, which found that General Atomics, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Anduril had all been awarded contracts for this design effort.

The design work tasked to GA-ASI will be focused on a “modular approach to platform selection, capable of being rapidly reconfigured and upgraded to meet changing mission requirements,” according to the announcement.

“We’re honored by the vote of confidence from the U.S. Navy and we’re eager to put what we’ve built to work for the future fleet,” GA-ASI President David Alexander said in a statement. “No one has more experience than we do with unmanned combat aircraft and we’re leveraging that to help the Navy get this capability onto the flight deck fast.”

The Navy’s CCA will aim to coordinate manned and uncrewed vehicles, as well as support fourth, fifth and sixth-generation aircraft, like the future F/A-XX fighter.