Speaking at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach emphasized the importance of Collaborative Combat Aircrafts (CCAs) and described how the service may train with them, even as he acknowledged he cannot quantify how many CCAs would equate to a single crewed aircraft.

The Air Force will likely award a contract or contracts for the first increment of Collaborative Combat Aircraft in late September or early October, sources familiar with the program said. It’s not yet been decided if the Air Force will carry one or both of its Increment 1 competitors—Anduril and General Atomics—into the next phase of development.