Defense & Military
GA-ASI and USAF Demonstrate Passive Targeting in CCA Program
GA-ASI and USAF completed a joint flight exercise using MQ-20 Avenger to demonstrate passive IR sensing for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
This article is based on an official press release from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), supplemented by industry research.
We report on the latest developments in the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. According to an official press release from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the company successfully completed a joint autonomy flight exercise with the USAF on February 24, 2026. The milestone, publicly announced on March 17, 2026, utilized an MQ-20 Avenger® uncrewed jet acting as a surrogate testbed for the CCA initiative.
The core achievement of this demonstration was the aircraft’s ability to execute passive target localization. By relying on Infrared (IR) sensing and Single Ship Ranging (SSR) rather than traditional active radar, the uncrewed jet estimated target ranges and tracked airborne threats without emitting detectable electromagnetic signals.
As we track the evolution of uncrewed military aviation, this capability represents a significant leap forward. It enables what defense experts call “stealthy sensor-to-shooter kill chains,” allowing autonomous wingmen to operate effectively in highly contested, radar-denied environments alongside crewed fighters.
In modern air combat, emitting an active radar signal is often compared to turning on a flashlight in a dark room, it illuminates the target but immediately reveals the user’s position to adversaries. According to the GA-ASI press release, the February 24 exercise demonstrated a viable, stealthy alternative.
The MQ-20 Avenger utilized a combination of the government-provided Autonomy Start Kit (ASK) and GA-ASI’s proprietary Tactical Autonomy Ecosystem (TacACE®). The integration of Infrared Search and Track (IRST) sensors alongside SSR techniques allowed the aircraft to track targets using heat signatures. The engagement sequences were managed via a TacPad Pilot Vehicle Interface (PVI), while a Proliferated Low-Earth Orbit (pLEO) data link ensured seamless communication and coordination of autonomy behaviors during the large force exercise.
“Integrated within the TacACE’s modular skills library, SSR supports autonomous mission execution, cooperative targeting, and distributed kill chains, advancing the role of autonomous aircraft in future air combat and CCA operations,” stated Mike Atwood, Vice President of Advanced Programs for GA-ASI, in the company’s release.
The CCA program is a multi-pronged initiative by the U.S. Air Force designed to field a new generation of highly autonomous, lower-cost uncrewed jets. Industry research notes that these aircraft are intended to fly alongside crewed fifth- and sixth-generation fighters, such as the F-35 and F-22, providing “affordable mass” to multiply combat power while reducing risks to human pilots.
GA-ASI is currently one of two primary vendors, alongside Anduril Industries, competing for the Increment 1 production contract of the CCA program. The Air Force is expected to select a final winner for both the physical aircraft design and the mission autonomy software by the end of 2026. “We’ll be making that decision [on the Increment 1 winner] by the end of the year… That will happen this year and then we’ll get moving pretty darn quickly on production,” noted Col. Timothy Helfrich, USAF Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fighters and Advanced Aircraft, speaking at the AFA Warfare Symposium in February 2026.
While the MQ-20 Avenger has served as a reliable surrogate testbed for over five years, GA-ASI’s official, purpose-built CCA prototype is the YFQ-42A. According to recent industry reports, the company officially nicknamed the aircraft the “Dark Merlin” in February 2026, following its maiden flight in August 2025. The aircraft is designed specifically for rapid, low-cost production.
The pace of development has accelerated rapidly in early 2026. On February 12, 2026, the USAF and GA-ASI successfully flew the YFQ-42A using third-party mission autonomy software, specifically, Collins Aerospace’s “Sidekick.” This flight proved the viability of the military’s Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA), demonstrating that the Air Force can successfully decouple physical aircraft hardware from the Software brains that pilot it.
Furthermore, the CCA concept is expanding beyond the Air Force. On February 10, 2026, the U.S. Marine Corps selected GA-ASI for its MUX TACAIR program. The Marines are using the YFQ-42A as a surrogate to evaluate how uncrewed collaborative aircraft can support expeditionary Marine Air-Ground Task Force operations.
We view the shift toward passive IR sensing as a defining characteristic of the next generation of air combat. The ability of uncrewed systems to operate as “silent wingmen” fundamentally changes the tactical geometry of an engagement. By relying on heat signatures and single-ship ranging rather than active Radar-Systems, these platforms can survive longer in contested airspace, acting as forward sensor nodes that feed targeting data back to crewed fighters without exposing the broader formation. Additionally, the successful integration of third-party software via open architecture suggests that the Department of Defense is successfully breaking vendor lock, paving the way for rapid, iterative software updates akin to the commercial tech sector.
What is the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program? What is passive target localization? When will the USAF choose a winner for the CCA program?
The Silent Wingman: Mastering Passive Targeting
Integrating TacACE and SSR
The Broader Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) Race
Timeline and Production
Recent Milestones for the “Dark Merlin”
Open Architecture and Marine Corps Expansion
AirPro News analysis
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The CCA program is a U.S. Air Force initiative to develop highly autonomous, lower-cost uncrewed jets that will fly alongside crewed fighter jets to increase combat mass and reduce risk to human pilots.
Passive target localization involves tracking and targeting adversaries without emitting detectable signals, such as active radar. In this demonstration, GA-ASI used Infrared (IR) sensing to track the heat signatures of targets.
According to USAF officials, a decision for the Increment 1 production contract is expected by the end of 2026.
Sources
Photo Credit: GA-ASI