The U.S. Air Force has successfully conducted a live-fire test of Anduril’s YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), launching an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) against a simulated target over the Mojave Desert in a major milestone for the service’s next-generation semi-autonomous fighter drone program.
The test, conducted from Edwards Air Force Base, California, marks the first live missile launch by the YFQ-44A and advances the Air Force’s effort to field Collaborative Combat Aircraft capable of operating alongside crewed fighters in contested environments.
The live-fire event followed a phased flight test campaign that began earlier this year with inert missile carriage trials to validate the aircraft’s handling characteristics. Subsequent testing verified data link integration between the aircraft and the missile system before progressing to live weapons employment.
“This live-fire test is an important next step in the development of Collaborative Combat Aircraft,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach. “We’re one step closer to delivering capabilities to the warfighter.”
New test footage: first missile shot from YFQ-44A.
YFQ-44A executed an end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight strike against a simulated target.
The test, executed out of @EdwardsAFB, represents an important step in turning CCA into an operational capability. pic.twitter.com/70cRIs6uXJ
— Anduril Industries (@anduriltech) July 15, 2026
According to Anduril, the engagement was managed through the company’s Lattice autonomous software. After takeoff, the aircraft received target information, a human operator authorized the engagement, and the YFQ-44A executed the missile launch against a simulated beyond-visual-range target.
“This was more than a simple weapons release test,” said Mark Shushnar, Vice President of Autonomous Airpower at Anduril. “It demonstrated an end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight strike against a simulated target.”
The Air Force emphasized that human oversight remains central to the CCA concept. While the aircraft can autonomously execute portions of the mission, the decision to employ weapons remains exclusively with a human operator maintaining command and control.
“Moving from inert carriage earlier in the year to this weapon release demonstrates program maturity, allowing us to validate our digital integration models with actual data,” said Gen. Dale White, Department of War direct reporting portfolio manager for Critical Major Weapon Systems. “These tests provide operational validation that Collaborative Combat Aircraft can execute the weapon employment sequence autonomously within pilot-defined parameters, accelerating capability delivery to the warfighter.”
The live-fire event was supported by the Air Dominance Combined Test Force from Edwards Air Force Base’s 412th Test Wing, which includes military personnel, government civilians and contractors responsible for validating advanced air combat systems.
Anduril’s YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft
The YFQ-44A, developed by California-based defense technology company Anduril Industries, is one of two aircraft selected for the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft increment, alongside General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ YFQ-42A.
Designed as a lower-cost, semi-autonomous combat aircraft, the YFQ-44A is intended to operate in close coordination with crewed fighters such as the F-35 and future Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) platforms. The aircraft is expected to perform missions including air-to-air combat, electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), strike missions, communications relay and decoy operations.
Its autonomy is powered by Anduril’s Lattice software, which enables the aircraft to process battlefield data, navigate independently and execute pilot-directed tasks while keeping humans in control of critical decisions such as weapons release.
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft program represents one of the U.S. Air Force’s highest modernization priorities. The service ultimately plans to acquire approximately 1,000 CCAs, providing affordable combat mass that can extend the reach, survivability and effectiveness of crewed aircraft in future high-intensity conflicts.