• An Anduril YFQ-44A Fury drone fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile at a simulated target over the Mojave Desert on July 15, the first live-weapon launch from a U.S. Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone.
  • The missile struck a digital target in a beyond-line-of-sight engagement, the Air Force said.
  • Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said the test brought the service “one step closer to delivering capabilities to the warfighter.”
  • The Air Force last month awarded contracts for the next generation of CCA drones to Anduril and General Atomics, with plans to acquire about 1,000 of the aircraft.

YFQ-44A Fury launches AIM-120 at simulated target over Mojave

The U.S. Air Force’s vision of autonomous fighter drones that can shoot down enemy planes moved from concept to demonstration this week when an Anduril-built jet drone fired an air-to-air missile at a simulated target over the Mojave Desert.

The July 15 test at Edwards Air Force Base involved an Anduril YFQ-44A Fury drone carrying an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) on its wing. The missile struck a digital target in a beyond-line-of-sight engagement, the Air Force said in a statement. It was the first time a U.S. Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone has launched a weapon.

“This was more than a simple weapons release test — it demonstrated an end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight strike against a simulated target,” Mark Shushnar, Anduril’s vice president of autonomous air power, said in a statement.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said the test brought the service “one step closer to delivering capabilities to the warfighter.”

The test marks a shift in the role of military drones. The U.S. military’s large unmanned aircraft, such as the MQ-9 Reaper, have historically been used to strike ground targets. Houston Cantwell, a retired Air Force brigadier general who commanded an MQ-9 wing, described the change as significant. “Usually we shoot the missiles at the drones,” Cantwell told the Wall Street Journal. “The fact you have a drone shooting a missile — that’s a whole new ballgame.”

The CCA program envisions drones that fly autonomously alongside manned aircraft, scanning for enemy planes in areas defended by surface-to-air missiles. A human operator will retain the authority to decide whether to fire weapons, the Air Force said.

The Air Force last month awarded contracts for the next generation of CCA drones to Anduril and General Atomics. Anduril’s YFQ-44A carries weapons on external wing stations. General Atomics’ YFQ-42A carries missiles in an internal weapons bay, similar to the F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters. A General Atomics spokesman said the company plans to fire a missile from its drone later this year.

Boeing last year fired an AIM-120 missile from its Ghost Bat jet-powered drone, which is being built for the Royal Australian Air Force. The company said the missile destroyed a “fighter-class target drone.”