Air Force reaches CCA milestone with live-firing of missile from Anduril’s robotic fighter jet
The Air Force announced Wednesday a major milestone for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program after the execution of a live-fire test in which an Anduril-built, jet-powered drone launched an AIM-120 missile at a digital target.
In a press release, the service said the event involving the YFQ-44A Fury occurred in “secluded airspace” over the Mojave Desert. In a social media post, Anduril said the test was conducted out of Edwards Air Force Base in California.
“YFQ-44A executed an end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight strike against a simulated target,” the company wrote in a social media post that included video footage of the live-fire test.
The AIM-120 is an advanced medium-range air-to-air missile.
Officials trumpeted the event as a significant advancement for the CCA drone program, which aims to field robotic wingmen that could accompany manned fighter jets into battle.
“We’re one step closer to delivering capabilities to the warfighter,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said in a statement.
Anduril posted on social media that the test “represents an important step in turning CCA into an operational capability.”
Air Force Gen. Dale White, the Pentagon’s direct reporting portfolio manager for Critical Major Weapon Systems, touted the advancement of the project from the inert carriage phase earlier this year to live-fire testing as a sign of program maturity.
“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,” he said in a statement.
Last month, the Air Force announced that Anduril and General Atomics received production contracts for Increment 1 of the CCA program. The service aims to field at least 150 of the robotic systems by the end of the decade.
General Atomics’ drone for the program has been designated as the YFQ-42A Dark Merlin.
The service also revealed in June that Anduril, Shield AI and RTX subsidiary Collins Aerospace were picked to move into the next phase of CCA Increment 1’s mission autonomy software program. Following evaluations of those vendors’ technologies, the Air Force is expected to select a primary provider next year.
