The U.S. Air Force started live-fire testing with the YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, firing an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile over the Mojave Desert.
The U.S. Air Force has announced the beginning of the live-fire testing of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, with a YFQ-44A firing for the first time an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. The service says the weapon was launched at “a digital target in secluded airspace over the Mojave Desert.”
CCA Live-Fire
The milestone follows the inert carriage evaluations conducted earlier this year in Febraury, which focused on collecting in-flight data to verify the aircraft’s handling. Subsequent evaluations validated the data link integration between the aircraft and the weapon system, before progressing to the live-fire.
We’re one step closer to getting CCA to the warfighter with this live fire test! pic.twitter.com/1jAsIiXzVa
— General Ken Wilsbach (@OfficialCSAF) July 15, 2026
The AIM-120 employed in the test appears to be a live variant, as denoted by the yellow and brown bands, indicating the presence of an explosive warhead and fuel, respectively. The exact variant is unclear due to the quality of the image, although during captive carriage the aircraft was seen with the C variant under the wings.
“This live-fire test is an important next step in the development of Collaborative Combat Aircraft,” said U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken 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
The service stressed once again that the CCA program will retain human oversight, especially when it comes to the use of lethal force.
“CCA will not autonomously employ weapons,” said the statement. “The decision to release any weapon system remains exclusively with a human operator, who maintains command and control of the platform at all times.
The live-fire test was performed in coordination with the 412th Test Wing’s Air Dominance Combined Test Force, who worked to refine and validate the models required for a safe live-fire execution, explained the service. The start of the live-firing campaign follows the recent production contracts for the CCA Increment 1, which includes Anduril’s YFQ-44 and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ YFQ-42.
“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 YFQ-44A
The YFQ-44A Fury is Anduril Industries’ design for the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. Developed as a low-cost, autonomous force multiplier, the YFQ-44A is designed to operate alongside crewed fighters such as the F-35 Lightning II, F-15EX Eagle II and the future F-47, extending their reach while undertaking high-risk missions that would otherwise expose human pilots to danger.
Originally derived from Anduril’s Fury concept, the aircraft emphasizes rapid development, open-system architecture and modularity. The Air Force officially unveiled the production-representative test vehicle in May 2025, with the announcement of the beginning of ground testing.
The YFQ-44A achieved its maiden flight on Oct. 31, 2025, reaching this milestone “just 556 days after the start of development,” says Anduril, an unusually rapid pace for a military aircraft. According to the company, the aircraft flew semi-autonomously rather than being remotely piloted, demonstrating the company’s software-driven approach to autonomous aviation.
Testing has continued to expand throughout 2026, with the CCA conducting captive-carry evaluations with inert AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles to validate weapons integration and safe store separation before live-fire testing. Later, it has also begun operational experimentation with the U.S. Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit at Edwards Air Force Base, California, allowing to start developing tactics, techniques and procedures for integrating autonomous combat aircraft into future air operations.
More recently, the U.S. Air Force awarded several contracts for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, including production contracts for the Increment 1 aircraft as well as mission autonomy software. The service explained that the award arrived months ahead of scheduled because the two uncrewed assets already met rigorous mission requirements and are ready for full-scale manufacturing.
Notably, the CCAs are now dropping the ‘Y’ designation which indicated prototypes, while maintaining the designation of UAVs (as denoted by the ‘Q’ vehicle type code) with the intended role as a fighter (indicated by the ‘F’ basic mission). The service intends to field approximately 1,000 combat-capable CCA throughout multiple Increments.
