Washington DC, June 18 -- The US Air Force has awarded production contracts to General Atomics and Anduril for its first-generation Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme and selected six companies to develop mission autonomy software as part of plans to field around 1,000 semi-autonomous aircraft capable of operating alongside crewed fighter jets.

The Air Force awarded engineering, manufacturing and production contracts to General Atomics and Anduril for the FQ-42A and FQ-44A, respectively, under CCA 'Increment 1 air vehicles', a statement from the US Air Force read.

Officials said the contracts were awarded four months ahead of schedule after both platforms met mission requirements during a competitive selection process.

"Coll...