APRIL 17, 2026 – The Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit, under Air Combat Command, concluded a critical exercise with Collaborative Combat Aircraft recently at Edwards Air Force Base, California, putting principles of the new Warfighting Acquisition System into practice. The exercise employed the YFQ-44A aircraft and represents a shift toward the new concept of earlier, operator-driven experimentation to inform tactics and procedures that will accelerate the delivery of this transformative capability to the warfighter.
EOU Airmen, working side-by-side with Air Force Materiel Command’s 412th Test Wing, executed a series of sorties that refined core operational and logistical procedures for deploying and sustaining CCA in a contested environment. This hands-on testing is a cornerstone of the Air Forces’ strategy to field combat-ready, uncrewed airpower at speed and scale by breaking down the barriers between the requirements, acquisition and operational communities. “This experimental operations event was executed by EOU members from start to finish. Every sortie generated and flown was done with a warfighter, not an engineer or test pilot, kicking the tires and controlling the prototypes,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Jensen, EOU commander. “We are learning by doing, at a speed and risk tolerance accepted by the USAF’s most senior leaders, to ensure CCA is ready to operate and win in the most demanding combat environments.”
As the Air Force’s designated unit for developing CCA employment concepts, the EOU’s core mission is to put operators at the center of the process. By embedding the warfighter’s voice as the driving force from the beginning, the unit forges the initial tactics, techniques and procedures needed to ensure CCA is integrated, and tactically viable for future conflict. By uniting the distinct test authorities of AFMC and the operational authorities of ACC, officials were able to fast-track the event, enabling groundbreaking, hands-on experimentation by operators at a uniquely early stage of development.
The CCA program is a pathfinder for the Warfighting Acquisition System, deliberately structured to move from concept to combat-credible capability in record time. The Air Force achieves this through empowering a close partnership between operators, developers and testers, relentlessly focused on delivering capability at the speed of relevance.
“The collaboration we saw in this exercise is the cornerstone of our acquisition transformation. By embedding the operators from the EOU with our acquisition professionals, we create a tight feedback loop that lets us trade operational risk with acquisition risk in real-time,” said Col. Timothy Helfrich, portfolio acquisition executive for fighters and advanced aircraft. “This isn’t just a test; it’s a demonstration of how we are adopting a more agile process. An 85% solution in the hands of a warfighter today is infinitely better than a 100% solution that never arrives.”
The conclusion of this exercise marks a vital step toward delivering a combat-effective force multiplier that extends the reach and enhances the survivability of crewed aircraft; it carries the Air Force closer to delivering a fully operational CCA capability to the Joint Force.
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs