{"id":15861098,"date":"2026-08-24T14:41:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T12:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/cca-increment-2-concept-refinement-new-engine-classes-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T14:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T12:44:10","slug":"cca-increment-2-concept-refinement-new-engine-classes-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/it\/cca-increment-2-concept-refinement-new-engine-classes-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The Air Force&rsquo;s Next Robot Fighter Needs a New Engine"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n<p>The first generation of America&rsquo;s robot fighters is already being built. The second generation is still an argument about engines.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Speaking at the Air Force&rsquo;s Life Cycle Industry Days conference in Dayton, Ohio, senior acquisition officials laid out where Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 2 actually stands: nine vendors, a concept refinement phase running to roughly mid-2027, and two brand-new engine classes being developed because nothing suitable exists on the shelf.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;color:#333;font-size:17px\">Quick Facts<\/p><table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px;text-align:left\"><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;color:#666;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Programme<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#1a1a1a\">Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) Increment 2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;color:#666;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Increment 1 status<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#1a1a1a\">In production (General Atomics YFQ-42A, Anduril YFQ-44A)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;color:#666;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Increment 2 vendors<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#1a1a1a\">Nine, currently unnamed<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;color:#666;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Concept refinement runs to<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#1a1a1a\">Approximately mid-2027<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;color:#666;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Designs to be carried forward<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#1a1a1a\">Up to six<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;color:#666;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Small engine effort<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#1a1a1a\">1,400&ndash;1,600 lb thrust, in preliminary design<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;color:#666;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Medium engine effort<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#1a1a1a\">5,000&ndash;6,000 lb thrust, clean-sheet or modified commercial<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;color:#666;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Additional market research<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#1a1a1a\">Sources-sought notice issued 24 July 2026<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;color:#666;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Competition<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#1a1a1a\">Will reopen beyond the nine refinement vendors<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Nine Vendors, Six Designs, One Funnel<\/h2><p>The process mirrors what the Air Force did for Increment 1: start with a broad set of desired attributes, work with industry on conceptual designs, then winnow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;We expect to do the same thing at the end of Increment 2 concept refinement.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Col. Timothy Helfrich<\/strong> &mdash; Portfolio acquisition executive for fighters and advanced aircraft, U.S. Air Force<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>The goal is to select up to six conceptual designs to move forward. Crucially, the nine companies currently in concept refinement do not have the field to themselves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;We will open back up to have competition. That is the way that we have continually executed the CCA program.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Col. Timothy Helfrich<\/strong> &mdash; Portfolio acquisition executive for fighters and advanced aircraft, U.S. Air Force<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>Running in parallel, the service issued a notice on 24 July seeking sources able to develop next-generation semi-autonomous collaborative platforms. Helfrich described that as continual market research, and was candid about why it is happening in the open: much of this work has until now been done in classified channels, and the Air Force wants to learn what the wider market can actually offer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1781101539  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:_V_p.cf23\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/yfq-42a-dark-merlin-creech-afb-landing.jpg\" alt=\"General Atomics YFQ-42A Dark Merlin collaborative combat aircraft landing at Creech Air Force Base\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A YFQ-42A descends before landing at Creech AFB. Increment 1 aircraft like this one are in production while Increment 2 is still being defined. (U.S. Air Force photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Engine Problem Is the Real Story<\/h2><p>For Increment 1, the Air Force did the pragmatic thing: it iterated quickly on an existing engine to get aircraft flying sooner. That option has now run out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The gap is simple. If Increment 2 needs a powerplant meaningfully smaller or larger than what Increment 1 uses, there is nothing available that meets the requirement. So the service is developing two engine classes at once: a small one in the 1,400 to 1,600 pound thrust bracket, currently in preliminary design, and a medium one in the 5,000 to 6,000 pound bracket that will be either a clean-sheet design or a heavily modified commercial engine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;We think that the requirements and the needs are going to be greater for CCA [Increment] 2, and we need to have propulsion systems ready for that.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>John Sneden<\/strong> &mdash; Portfolio acquisition executive for propulsion, U.S. Air Force<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>That bracketing is worth dwelling on. A 1,500 lb-thrust engine suggests something small, cheap and probably attritable, closer to a large cruise missile than a fighter. A 5,000 to 6,000 lb-thrust engine suggests something substantially more capable, with the range and payload to matter in the Pacific. The Air Force is deliberately keeping both doors open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Xa8ThV-qKXw\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Not Committing to Either<\/h2><p>Helfrich was careful to say Increment 2 is not constrained by the two engine concepts. If a selected design needs one of those thrust classes, the airframe and the powerplant will be developed in concert.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This is the unglamorous part of building an air force of robot wingmen, and it is where programmes usually go wrong. Autonomy software gets the headlines. Propulsion sets the range, the payload, the unit cost and ultimately whether you can afford to lose the thing, which was the entire point of the concept.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Increment 1 is being built. Increment 2 will be defined by whichever of those two engines the Air Force ends up needing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: National Defense Magazine, 24 August 2026, reporting by Josh Luckenbaugh from the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Industry Days conference, Dayton, Ohio.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/loyal-wingman-cca-drones-farnborough-2026-explained\/\">Loyal Wingman CCA Drones at Farnborough 2026, Explained<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/air-force-cca-fq-42a-fq-44a-production-contracts\/\">The Air Force Awards CCA Production Contracts for the FQ-42A and FQ-44A<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/yfq-44a-fury-cca-first-aim-120-missile-2026\/\">The YFQ-44A Fury Fires Its First AIM-120<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first generation of America&rsquo;s robot fighters is already being built. The second generation is still an argument about engines. Speaking at the Air Force&rsquo;s Life Cycle Industry Days conference in Dayton, Ohio, senior acquisition officials laid out where Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 2 actually stands: nine vendors, a concept refinement phase running to roughly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":15860350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15861098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CCA Increment 2: New Engines for the Next Drone Fighter | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The US Air Force is refining CCA Increment 2 with nine vendors and developing two new engine classes because nothing suitable exists off the shelf.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/cca-increment-2-concept-refinement-new-engine-classes-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"it_IT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CCA Increment 2: New Engines for the Next Drone Fighter | MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The US Air Force is refining CCA Increment 2 with nine vendors and developing two new engine classes because nothing suitable exists off the shelf.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/cca-increment-2-concept-refinement-new-engine-classes-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - 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