An F-22A Raptor pilot took control of a YFQ-44A Fury Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) in flight for the first time during an airborne tactical control demonstration in early October 2026, the U.S. Air Force announced Oct. 16.
During the test, the F-22 pilot served as an airborne “quarterback,” issuing high-level tactical directives to a single YFQ-44A, according to an Air Force news release. The drone’s autonomy software executed the directives, performing dynamic flight maneuvers and simulated combat tasks.
“This flight shows the power of crewed-uncrewed teaming and the advantage it provides our warfighters,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said in the release. “We must test often, learn fast and give commanders what they need, when they need it.”
The demonstration involved 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, the service said.
The Air Force has previously identified the F-22 as the “threshold platform” for the CCA program, meaning the Raptor will be the first fighter paired with the drones, with integration on F-16s, F-35As, F-15Es and F-15EXs still under consideration. The F-22 had previously controlled an MQ-20 Avenger surrogate in a manned-unmanned teaming test, a platform used for more than five years to validate autonomy concepts.
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said the achievement “demonstrates what is possible when we are aligned with industry on a shared imperative: delivering capability to the warfighter at unprecedented speed.”
The flight follows earlier tests this summer in which crewed fighters flew alongside both the YFQ-44 and YFQ-42 without the pilots controlling the drones. The Air Force has since awarded engineering and manufacturing development and production contracts for the FQ-42 and FQ-44, as well as mission autonomy production contracts, months ahead of schedule. The two designs dropped their prototype “Y” designations with the production contract awards.
Meink has said the service plans to procure over 150 combat-capable CCAs by the end of the decade, a goal later updated to 500 aircraft by 2032, out of 1,000 planned by the end of the decade. The FQ-42 and FQ-44 received the popular names Vengeance and Fury, respectively.
Both the YFQ-42 and YFQ-44 continue to be tested by the Experimental Operations Unit, with more aircraft recently delivered.
Sources: DVIDS News · Air & Space Forces Magazine