RTX Tests AI Autonomy on Uncrewed Jet
Collins Aerospace, a business unit of RTX, successfully showcased its Sidekick mission autonomy software in a test flight. The software enabled semi-autonomous flight on a YFQ-42A, an uncrewed jet platform developed by General Atomics.
- This test is a key milestone for the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, which aims to field at least 1,000 uncrewed "wingmen" to fly alongside fighters like the F-35A. - The Sidekick software was integrated using a government-owned system called the Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA), which is designed to prevent being locked into a single vendor and allow for rapid software updates. - During the flight test, a human operator on the ground transmitted commands to the YFQ-42A, which the aircraft then executed with high accuracy for over four hours. - General Atomics' YFQ-42A is one of two prototype platforms in the first increment of the CCA program; the other is the YFQ-44A, developed by Anduril Industries. - Collins Aerospace and Shield AI were selected by the Air Force to develop the mission autonomy software—the "brains"—for the CCA platforms. - The CCA initiative is part of the Air Force's broader Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) family of systems, intended to augment its manned fleet with capabilities like reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and strike operations. - The YFQ-42A aircraft itself had its first flight in August 2025, demonstrating a rapid development timeline of less than six months to building and flying multiple units. - The U.S. Marine Corps has also selected the YFQ-42A for evaluation in its Marine Air-Ground Task Force Uncrewed Expeditionary (MUX) Tactical Aircraft program.
