General Atomics Joins Marine Corps CCA Program

The U.S. Marine Corps has selected General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) to participate in its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, joining the previously announced team of Northrop Grumman and Kratos in the effort.

GA-ASI in a Feb. 10 announcement said the Marine Corps will use its YFQ-42A as a surrogate platform to assess operation with crewed fighters as part of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Uncrewed Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft (MUX TACAIR) program. The new contract includes the development of autonomy for a government-supplied mission kit.

“This selection builds upon the GA-ASI autonomous systems in use today and demonstrates our commitment to delivering next-generation capabilities for critical USMC missions,” said Mike Atwood, vice president of advanced programs for GA-ASI, in the announcement.

The Corps previously announced Jan. 8 that it picked the Northrop Grumman and Kratos team for MUX TACAIR, using the XQ-58 Valkyrie with which the service has already been operating.

GA-ASI has developed the YFQ-42A under contract with the U.S. Air Force for the first increment of its CCA program, first flying the aircraft in August 2025.

The Corps, in a newly released aviation plan, says MUX TACAIR is specifically focused on enhancing the capability of the F-35 fleet. The service in January stood up a MUX TACAIR Transition Task Force to oversee the fielding of CCAs. In the plan, the service says it plans a second increment in 2031-2035 and a third in 2036-2040.