US loyal wingman drone successfully fires AIM-120 missile in first live test

The U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program has reached a major milestone. The YFQ-44A "Fury" uncrewed fighter jet successfully conducted its first live-fire test of an AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) on July 10 at Edwards Air Force Base in California. This test marks the first time a U.S. military CCA has fired an air-to-air missile, demonstrating its beyond-visual-range (BVR) attack capabilities against a simulated target.

The test, conducted over the Mojave Desert by the 412th Test Wing's "Air Superiority Joint Test Force," involved the YFQ-44A receiving target data via Anduril's Lattice combat management system. Ground operators then issued an attack command, culminating in the AIM-120 missile launch. This sequence covered the entire BVR engagement process, from target acquisition to weapon release.

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This test was not just about verifying if the weapon could be launched, but about demonstrating the CCA's end-to-end beyond-visual-range attack capability for the first time, proving that the YFQ-44A is capable of autonomously completing engagement procedures after being assigned a mission by an operator.

According to Michael Shushnar, vice president of Anduril's autonomous combat division, the test validated the CCA's end-to-end BVR attack capability, proving the YFQ-44A can autonomously complete engagement procedures after being assigned a mission by an operator. The U.S. Air Force noted that the CCA program entered the weapon integration and captive-carry flight testing phase in February, progressing from inert practice missiles to this live-fire event. General Duke Z. Richardson, program executive officer for major weapon systems, stated that the progression confirms the CCA program's increasing maturity and the platform's ability to autonomously employ weapons based on pilot-set engagement parameters.

The YFQ-44A is one of two aircraft selected for the first phase of the U.S. Air Force's CCA program, alongside General Atomics' YCQ-42A "Dark Merlin." The U.S. military announced last month its intention to procure both types for the first CCA fleet. This development follows similar tests by Turkey's "Kızılelma" uncrewed fighter and Australia's Royal Australian Air Force with Boeing's MQ-28 "Ghost Bat."

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From inert carriage to live firing, it shows the maturity of the CCA program is continuing to increase, and it confirms that the platform can autonomously execute the weapon employment process according to the engagement parameters set by the pilot.