Overview
- BAE unveiled the Brontanax prototype at the Farnborough Airshow on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, and said the aircraft is being readied for ground tests at Warton with flight trials planned in UK airspace next year and service targeted before the end of the decade.
- The UK government has committed £300 million to the StormFighter sovereign CCA programme to back a homegrown demonstrator and support domestic suppliers and jobs during scale‑up.
- Boeing’s MQ‑28 Ghost Bat has expanded European partnerships with Leonardo, Eton and Hensoldt and has moved from trials into operational validation after a live‑fire AIM‑120 demonstration and participation in Exercise Valiant Shield.
- The U.S. Air Force has advanced procurement for Collaborative Combat Aircraft by awarding initial production contracts to General Atomics and Anduril, keeping a competitive supplier base for near‑term buys.
- Defence ministers and primes frame CCAs as lower‑cost force multipliers that extend combat mass, provide electronic warfare and strike options, and create export and industrial opportunities as adoption grows through the late 2020s and into the 2030s.