GA-ASI Achieves New Milestone With Semi-Autonomous CCA Flight

General Atomics integrates 3rd-party mission autonomy into new YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has successfully integrated 3rd-party mission autonomy software from Collins Aerospace into its new YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, enabling the aircraft to conduct its first semi-autonomous airborne mission. The integration utilized the Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) to ensure robust data exchange between the autonomy software and the aircraft's mission systems.

Why it matters

This milestone demonstrates GA-ASI's commitment to advancing autonomous systems for defense applications. The combination of Collins Aerospace's Sidekick autonomy software and GA-ASI's YFQ-42A mission systems sets new benchmarks for combat autonomy, mission flexibility, operator control, and system reliability.

The details

During the recent testing, autonomy mode was activated via the Ground Station Console (GSC). Once enabled, a human autonomy operator on the ground transmitted various commands directly to the YFQ-42A, which executed the instructions with high accuracy for more than four hours. This test highlights the effectiveness of Sidekick's advanced mission autonomy capabilities and the flexibility of the A-GRA standard in supporting complex operational requirements.

  • The first mission autonomy flight took place in February 2026.
  • GA-ASI began initial flights of the YFQ-42A Tail One in August 2025.

The players

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI)

A world-leading builder of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), including the Predator® line of UAS that has logged more than 9 million flight hours over 30 years.

Collins Aerospace

An RTX business that supplied the Sidekick Collaborative Mission Autonomy software integrated with the YFQ-42A's flight control system.

David R. Alexander

President of GA-ASI.

Ryan Bunge

Vice president and general manager for Strategic Defense Solutions at Collins Aerospace, an RTX business.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“We are excited to collaborate with Collins to deliver enhanced autonomous mission solutions. The integration of Sidekick with our YFQ-42A demonstrates our commitment to innovation and operational excellence in unmanned aircraft technology.”

— David R. Alexander, President of GA-ASI

“The autonomy capabilities showcased in this flight highlight our dedicated investment to advance collaborative mission autonomy. The rapid integration of Sidekick onto this General Atomics platform and its immediate ability to support a broad spectrum of combat-relevant behaviors underscores the strength and flexibility of our open systems approach.”

— Ryan Bunge, Vice president and general manager for Strategic Defense Solutions, Collins Aerospace, an RTX business

What’s next

GA-ASI plans to continue a robust YFQ-42A development schedule, building and flying multiple aircraft, including push-button autonomous takeoffs and landings.

The takeaway

This achievement underscores GA-ASI's dedication to advancing autonomous systems for defense applications, setting new benchmarks for combat autonomy, mission flexibility, operator control, and system reliability through the integration of third-party autonomy software with its YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft.