APRIL 24, 2026 – The Department of the Air Force and the Netherlands Ministry of Defence have formalized a partnership to acquire prototype Collaborative Combat Aircraft, advancing a shared strategy to bring greater affordable mass to deter, and if necessary, defeat adversaries.
The agreement solidifies the Netherlands as a key international partner in the CCA program, a crucial step in the DAF strategy to strengthen alliances and enhance interoperability. The collaboration will focus on shared development of platform-agnostic, open architecture based, autonomous capabilities enabling seamless data sharing and interoperability in combined operations. The DAF is accelerating collaboration with international partners on multiple areas of CCA capabilities development.
“The future fight will be fought with allies and partners,” said Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink. “By aligning our approaches early, we ensure interoperability and shared advantage in the era of human-machine teaming.”
The prototype CCA aircraft will be part of the Netherlands contribution to the CCA program in which the Netherlands will learn alongside the U.S. at the Experimental Operations Unit (EOU), headquartered at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The EOU serves as the engine for developing concepts of operations for CCA, creating a tight feedback loop between the warfighter and developer. This experimental approach allows for continuous refinement of mission autonomy in realistic scenarios demonstrating safe and effective human-machine teaming.
“CCA will fundamentally change how we project airpower. Working with trusted allies allows us to field these capabilities more effectively,” said Col. Timothy Helfrich, portfolio acquisition executive for fighters and advanced aircraft. “The collaboration on open architecture based autonomous platforms is critical to ensuring our forces are interoperable and ready for combined operations.”
This landmark agreement underscores a mutual commitment to a future where CCA expand combat mass, increase survivability, and deliver a decisive advantage for the Joint and Coalition Force.
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs