Anduril's Fury drone flies alongside F-35 fighters in Air Force tests
Anduril's YFQ-44A Fury autonomous jet has flown in formation with crewed F-35 fighters during July exercises at Creech Air Force Base, and also conducted a live air-to-air missile shot. The company says production aircraft will begin assembly next year.
What happened
Anduril executives revealed in September that the company's YFQ-44A Fury Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) participated in formation flying with F-35 fighters during a July 2026 exercise at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, conducted by the Air Force's Experimental Operations Unit (EOU). The Fury operated under its own autonomy system rather than being controlled by the F-35 pilots, but the test proved that the autonomous jet could safely share airspace with fifth-generation crewed fighters and other aircraft.
During the same July exercise, Fury also conducted a live weapons test: the aircraft received targeting information from an external source, processed it through Anduril's Lattice autonomy software, and launched an AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile at a simulated target. This represented a complete "kill chain" from offboard targeting through weapon guidance, rather than just a captive-carry test.
Anduril stressed that direct control of Fury from the F-35 is still forthcoming. The company said it is developing "quarterback integration," the ability for a crewed fighter to task autonomous aircraft, and that live-flying tests of this capability would begin within weeks or months. Additionally, Anduril has delivered a Fury aircraft to the EOU at Creech for ongoing testing, and says it has begun assembling production airframes at its Arsenal facility, with aircraft expected to come off the line in early 2027.
Background
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft program is a U.S. Air Force initiative to develop and buy relatively inexpensive autonomous jets that operate alongside crewed fighters such as the F-35. The goal is to extend the reach and combat power of human pilots by providing them with drone wingmen that can perform tasks autonomously or under direction from the crewed aircraft. Anduril's Fury (production designation FQ-44) was selected for the CCA Increment 1 production contract in June 2026, alongside General Atomics' competing design. Fury achieved its first flight in October 2025. The aircraft is designed to carry air-to-air missiles and other weapons, and can operate with minimal ground infrastructure and personnel.
What to watch next
Watch for announcements of the first "quarterback integration" live-flight test in which an F-35 directly controls or tasks a Fury aircraft. Anduril said this would occur within weeks or months of September 2026. Also monitor updates on production aircraft deliveries beginning in early 2027 and any expansion of the EOU's testing scope.
Sources
- Original report: Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury CCA Has Flown Alongside F-35s (TWZ, Sep 14, 2026) Defense media
Written by Anduril News with AI assistance from the original report and other coverage, in plain English. It can contain mistakes; check the original for anything important. How we write these.
