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WASHINGTON — The United States Air Force announced on Wednesday it has narrowed down the number of companies in the service’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone program, naming General Atomics as one of the two remaining vendors in the next phase of this initiative.
“Congratulations to General Atomics for the incredible ingenuity that went into this cutting-edge aircraft and for its continued leadership in unmanned systems,” said Cramer. “Today’s announcement further solidifies their essential role in aviation modernization, and North Dakota looks forward to playing a critical role in their advancement of these technologies. The Air Force was right to recognize General Atomics’ expertise in delivering the best products to meet our national security objectives.”
Through the Air Force Research Laboratory program, General Atomics was commissioned to design and build the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) in 2021. The Air Force views the OBSS as a crucial step towards advanced drone concepts, with a focus on scalable iterative and “attributability” development, and low-cost rapid production.
“General Atomics has been a strong partner and a key component to North Dakota’s unmanned aerial systems ecosystem,” added Cramer. “Whether it’s supporting MQ-9 operations for the Happy Hooligans in Fargo, training foreign pilots on UAS operations in Grand Forks, or interacting with the University of North Dakota on technology and workforce development, General Atomics plays an important role as a North Dakota corporate constituent, and we only expect that role to get bigger.”
Earlier this week, Senator Cramer joined Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force General James Slife and General Atomics CEO Linden Blue at Grey Butte Airfield in Palmdale, California, where they watched the OBSS XQ-67A take flight for the third time.
