Dutch defence ministry joins US to fast-track CCA loyal wingman drone development
October 17, 2025
As the United States pioneers the development of advanced loyal wingman drones, the Netherlands has signed a letter of intent to join the rapidly progressing CCA programme. It has also agreed to produce new, small ISR drones to be rushed into service in 2026.
Dutch sign agreement to join US CCA programme
On 16th October, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced that the Netherlands is joining the US Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme. The letter of intent was signed by the Dutch State Secretary for Defence on Thursday.
The Ministry said unmanned systems are one of the five key focus areas in its Defence Strategy for Industry and Innovation, launched in April. By joining the US programme at this early stage, the Netherlands aims to assume a leading role in this critical area of future air combat capability.
The agreement may mirror the structure of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme, in which the Netherlands participated as a development partner, contributing to its early funding. As a result, the country became one of only two Level 2 partners, alongside Italy, with the UK as the sole Level 1 partner.
The Netherlands now enjoys F-35-related benefits, including a share of industrial workload and preferential pricing on aircraft purchases.
This morning, the US and the NL signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) concerning a cooperation of "Autonomous and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA)."
— Netherlands Embassy in the US 🇳🇱🇺🇸 (@NLintheUSA) October 16, 2025
In an era of ongoing strategic competition and emerging global security threats, both signatories recognize the need to adopt…
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/fPj2qwYacH
No alternative to US advanced drones
While European nations are rearming and investing in home-grown defence solutions, there are domains where the United States maintains a commanding technological lead; areas in which no viable European alternative yet exists.
This is evident with fighter aircraft: the F-35 remains the only operational stealth fighter available to European air forces, while the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale offer different, non-stealth capabilities. Europe will not have a stealth fighter of its own until GCAP/Tempest enters service in the 2030s.
The US is also ahead in loyal wingman drone development, integrating these platforms around the F-35, the only fighter type now flown by the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
Although countries such as France and Turkey (with its Kızılelma programme) are pursuing indigenous designs, it is American firms like Kratos, Anduril, and General Atomics that are leading the field, and even planning to produce versions of their drones in Europe for regional customers.
Today's successful flight of the YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) by @GenAtomics_ASI for the @usairforce shows what is possible when innovative acquisition meets motivated industry! (1/2) pic.twitter.com/XpRRj9Zuvv
— Office of the Secretary of the Air Force (@SecAFOfficial) August 27, 2025
While the USAF’s sixth-generation NGAD programme encompasses both its manned F-47 fighter and the development of CCAs, the UK-led GCAP/Tempest project currently focuses solely on the crewed jet. It remains unclear which loyal wingman drones, if any, will accompany it—or who will build them.
The Netherlands’ VDL to build small drones for 2026
The Dutch Ministry of Defence also announced plans to work with General Atomics on developing smaller unmanned systems for ISR and other roles.
Details remain limited, but the Ministry said these lightweight drones should be ready for operational deployment as early as next year. Dutch industrial and manufacturing firm VDL Groep has been named as the contractor for their production.
In a VDL Groep news release on 6th October that may or may not be related, the company said production of “unmanned vehicles for Milrem Robotics, batteries for military use for Tulip Tech, and drones for DeltaQuad” had commenced in the southern Dutch village of Born. It added that these drones will strengthen both the Dutch and Ukrainian armed forces.
More production lines are to follow in the coming months, and the expansion is proceeding at “speed and scale.” Minister Brekelmans was quoted as saying, “VDL is the new flagship of the Dutch defence industry and is now in full swing.
