U.S. Air Force Fires First AIM-120 Missile from Anduril YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force has completed the first live AIM-120 air-to-air missile launch from Anduril Industries' YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft demonstrator over the Mojave Desert. The milestone validates a key weapon-employment sequence, bringing the CCA program closer to fielding autonomous aircraft capable of supporting crewed fighters.

Conducted in restricted airspace, the flight test used a digital target to verify the YFQ-44A's ability to carry out a missile launch within engagement parameters defined by a human operator. While the event marks the program's transition beyond captive-carry and simulated-weapons integration testing, it stops short of demonstrating a complete operational air-to-air engagement or an autonomous combat capability.

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The evaluation campaign followed a phased process designed to reduce risk before releasing a live weapon. Earlier in 2026, the YFQ-44A conducted flights with inert AIM-120 missiles to collect handling data and assess the safe carriage of external stores. Subsequent evaluations examined data-link integration between the aircraft and the weapon system, including the transmission and execution of operator commands in a simulated environment. Data collected during the live launch can now be compared with the digital models used to predict aircraft behavior and prepare the missile-separation sequence.

The Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs announced the test on July 15, 2026. It was conducted in coordination with the 412th Test Wing’s Air Dominance Combined Test Force, which includes active-duty personnel, government civilians and contractors. According to the Air Force, the YFQ-44A autonomously executed the weapon-employment sequence within pilot-defined parameters. The service did not identify the AIM-120 variant, launch distance, missile flight profile, or detailed criteria used to assess the engagement against the digital target.

The technical challenge extends beyond physically carrying a missile beneath the wing. The engagement chain must provide usable targeting information, verify that launch conditions have been met, initialize the weapon, process human authorization and release the missile without destabilizing the aircraft. The test therefore examined the connection between the operator, the YFQ-44A’s mission systems, its data links and the AIM-120. The Air Force has not disclosed which functions were evaluated after release, including whether the missile received in-flight updates, activated its terminal seeker or completed a simulated intercept.

Developed from Anduril’s Fury design, the YFQ-44A is a single-engine uncrewed combat aircraft intended to provide fighter-like performance through a smaller and less complex airframe. Two external underwing stations can each carry an AIM-120. Anduril also describes the aircraft as using open hardware and software architectures, external stores and modular mission equipment, allowing payloads and autonomy packages to be changed without redesigning the entire aircraft.

Technical figures associated with the earlier Fury configuration provide an approximate indication of the aircraft’s size and intended performance. Published estimates describe an airframe approximately 6.1 meters long with a wingspan of about 5.2 meters and a maximum takeoff weight near 2,268 kilograms. The design has also been associated with a maximum speed of approximately Mach 0.95, an operating ceiling of around 50,000 feet, and a Williams FJ44-4M turbofan producing about 17.8 kilonewtons of thrust. These figures have not been confirmed by Anduril or the Air Force for the current YFQ-44A configuration and should not be treated as definitive program specifications.

Anduril states that Fury uses commercially available subsystems to control production costs and shorten manufacturing timelines. The YFQ-44A progressed from a clean-sheet design to its first flight in 556 days. It has since flown with mission-autonomy software developed by both Anduril and Shield AI, demonstrating the ability to integrate multiple software packages into a single aircraft. This separation between the air vehicle and mission-autonomy provider is central to the Air Force’s acquisition strategy, which seeks to prevent the CCA fleet from becoming dependent on a single software supplier.

The YFQ-44A is one of two aircraft selected for the first increment of the CCA program, alongside General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ YFQ-42A Dark Merlin. Both are single-engine uncrewed combat aircraft designed to accept mission-autonomy software from multiple suppliers, but their airframes follow different configurations. Published technical descriptions identify different aerodynamic configurations for the two aircraft. The YFQ-44A uses a chin-mounted air intake and a cruciform tail arrangement with a single vertical fin, while the YFQ-42A features a dorsal intake and two canted tail surfaces forming a V-tail. General Atomics has not released verified figures for its speed, range, maximum takeoff weight, or weapon capacity, and available imagery does not provide enough evidence to confirm its internal armament configuration.

The Air Force awarded development and initial production contracts for both aircraft in June 2026. The “Y” prefix identifies the prototypes currently undergoing evaluation, while production aircraft are to be designated FQ-44 and FQ-42. The service plans to obtain more than 150 combat-capable CCAs by the end of the decade as part of a longer-term objective of approximately 1,000 aircraft. Maintaining both designs during the initial production phase allows the Air Force to compare performance, cost, autonomy integration, logistical requirements and operational suitability before making decisions on subsequent production lots.

The weapon used during the test belongs to Raytheon’s AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile family. According to Air Combat Command data, an AIM-120 is approximately 3.66 meters long, has a diameter of 178 millimeters and weighs about 159 kilograms, depending on the variant. The missile combines a solid-fuel rocket motor, a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, inertial navigation and an active radar seeker. During a long-range engagement, it can initially follow a calculated trajectory and receive updated targeting information through a data link before using its onboard radar for terminal guidance.

This guidance architecture reduces the need for the launching aircraft to illuminate the target continuously throughout the engagement. It is particularly relevant to a collaborative aircraft that could receive targeting information from another sensor before launching its own missile. The Air Force has not identified whether the YFQ-44A carried an AIM-120C, AIM-120D, or another version during the test. No specific engagement range can therefore be assigned to the event, and the detailed performance of the latest AMRAAM variants remains undisclosed.

The CCA program distinguishes flight autonomy, which allows an aircraft to navigate and remain within safety limits, from mission autonomy, which supports the execution of tactical tasks. Neither gives the YFQ-44A the authority to decide independently when to fire. The Air Force states that weapon release will remain exclusively under human control. Once authorization has been provided and the mission parameters established, the aircraft can automatically perform the remaining steps within those limits, reducing the workload required to supervise several uncrewed aircraft.

Operationally, a YFQ-44A carrying two AIM-120s could increase the number of missiles available to a formation without requiring an additional crewed fighter. Positioned ahead of the formation or along a separate axis, it could also alter the geometry of an engagement and force an opponent to track threats approaching from several directions. This approach is relevant to an Indo-Pacific conflict, where long distances and dense air-defense networks could restrict the concentration of crewed aircraft. The July 15 launch does not demonstrate a complete interception or an operational air combat capability, but it confirms that the CCA program has entered the live-weapons integration phase required before these aircraft can operate alongside fifth- and sixth-generation fighters.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in Security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.