Anduril and General Atomics face boom or bust with U.S. Air Force’s uncrewed fighters

As the U.S. Air Force processes the lessons and losses from its engagement in Iran, the service’s initial vision to procure inexpensive, uncrewed fighter jets is evolving into an ask for higher-end, multi-role aircraft — leading defense contractors to make high-stakes development bets as companies attempt to demonstrate what they think the Pentagon wants to buy.

In June, the Air Force selected General Atomics’ FQ-42 Vengeance and Anduril’s FQ-44 Fury for its first effort to procure Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs). Originally envisioned as affordable, uncrewed “loyal wingmen” to assist in air-to-air combat, both companies are racing to demonstrate that their aircraft can evolve into more expensive but more capable fighters over time.

Related: The surprising first U.S. deployment of a collaborative combat aircraft

Their diverging approaches, however, present the Air Force with a choice as it decides how to approach future CCA acquisition: prioritize the lower cost and additional firepower offered by Fury and its externally-carried weapons, or invest in stealthier designs like Vengeance that are designed to survive in heavily contested airspace.

“We recognize that the cost of entry [into contested airspace] is all-aspect stealth, period,” said Maj. Gen. Ty W. Neuman, commander of the Air Force’s Joint-Global Strike Operations Center during the Air, Space & Cyber conference in September. “So we’re going to push for [stealth] assets.”