An F-22 Raptor completed airborne tactical command and in-flight control of an unmanned YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft earlier this month, the Air Force announced. The demonstration marked a step in the service’s effort to field “loyal wingmen” for its fighter fleet.
The F-22 pilot served as an airborne “quarterback,” issuing high-level directives to the Anduril-made Fury, according to the Air Force. The unmanned, semi-autonomous aircraft’s onboard autonomy software interpreted and executed the directives in real time, performing in-flight maneuvers and simulated combat tasks.
Personnel from the 412th Test Wing, 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, 309th Software Engineering Group, Experimental Operations Unit, F-22 System Program Office and the CCA Software Autonomy and Teaming Branch collaborated during the demonstration, the service said.
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said in the announcement that the achievement “demonstrates what is possible when we are aligned with industry on a shared imperative: delivering capability to the warfighter at unprecedented speed.”
“We are driving urgency into every part of acquisition from rapid integration and flight learning to disciplined assessment, so we can turn promising technology into combat capability at the pace the threat demands,” Meink said.
The Air Force plans to use data from the event to inform software integration, developmental testing and further CCA concepts, the announcement said.
The test follows other CCA milestones. The service has said it intends to have 500 combat-ready, semi-autonomous systems by 2032, with an overall fleet size of 1,000. The Anduril-made Fury executed its first live-fire test in July, conducting an end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight strike against a simulated target at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
The Air Force has also made progress with General Atomics’ FQ-42A Vengeance, another CCA platform in development.
Sources: The Aviationist · Defense News