Fury and the Air Force CCA program
How Anduril's FQ-44 went from an acquired startup's design to a production contract for the U.S. Air Force's drone wingman program.
What is the CCA program?
Collaborative Combat Aircraft are jet-powered drones meant to fly alongside crewed fighters such as the F-35 and the future F-47, carrying sensors, jammers or weapons. They are designed to be cheaper than fighters, so the Air Force can buy more of them and accept losing some in combat. Pilots direct them; onboard autonomy flies them.
How Anduril got here
Anduril bought Blue Force Technologies, the developer of Fury, in September 2023. In April 2024 the Air Force picked Anduril and General Atomics to build production-representative prototypes, passing over Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The prototype was designated YFQ-44A, first flew in October 2025, flew with both Anduril's and Shield AI's autonomy software in early 2026, and joined the Air Force's Experimental Operations Unit. In June 2026 the Air Force awarded production contracts to both teams and separately chose Anduril's Lattice for the next phase of CCA mission autonomy.
What to watch
- Unit cost and production rate at Arsenal-1.
- Increment 2 requirements and competitors.
- Autonomy: how much the Air Force relies on government-owned versus vendor software.
- International interest: Rheinmetall partnership for a European Fury.
Milestones
- YFQ-44A completes a second exercise with the Experimental Operations Unit. Source
- Anduril wins a production contract for the CCA program. Source
- YFQ-44A integrates with the Air Force's Experimental Operations Unit. Source
- YFQ-44A flies with mission autonomy software from Anduril and Shield AI. Source
- YFQ-44A begins flight testing. Source
- Selected (with General Atomics) for the next phase of the Air Force CCA program. Source
- Anduril acquires Blue Force Technologies, Fury's original developer. Source
