The US Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program has reached a new milestone with one of Anduril’s prototype YFQ-44A Fury uncrewed combat aircraft flying while carrying an inert AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). This marks the start of the weapons integration and “captive carry” testing phase, which utilizes dummy munitions to verify airworthiness, safety, and missile compatibility before live weapons are employed, according to Joseph Trevithick of The War Zone. The Air Force emphasizes that this phase remains developmental, with humans retaining authority over any future weapons release decisions. The Fury is one of two CCA designs now in testing under Increment 1 of the program, and successfully carrying an air-to-air weapon is an important step toward integrating combat drones alongside crewed fighters in future operations. The TWZ writes:

The U.S. Air Force has given us our first look at one of Anduril’s YFQ-44 Fury ‘fighter drone’ prototypes carrying an inert AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).

“The Air Force has entered the next phase of developmental testing for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, initiating disciplined weapons integration and captive carry evaluations using inert test munitions to validate airworthiness, safety, and systems performance,” according to an Air Force press release put out this evening. “This milestone represents a deliberate step forward in integrating CCA into the Air Force’s future force design.” […]

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