Anduril's YFQ-44A Fury Fires First Live AIM-120 in US Combat Drone Milestone

The US Air Force and Anduril announced on July 15 that the YFQ-44A Fury fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM over the Mojave Desert, the first live air-to-air missile shot by a US Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

The US Air Force and Anduril announced on July 15 that the YFQ-44A Fury has fired a live AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided missile for the first time — the first live air-to-air missile shot by any US Collaborative Combat Aircraft. The test was conducted from Edwards Air Force Base, California, in airspace over the Mojave Desert, and took place on July 10, according to FlightGlobal.

The sortie demonstrated an end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight engagement. After the drone departed Edwards, Anduril's Lattice autonomy software ingested a target track, a human operator tasked the aircraft to engage, and the YFQ-44A released the AMRAAM against a simulated digital target. "This was more than a simple weapons release test — it demonstrated an end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight strike," said Anduril's vice president of autonomous airpower. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach called the test "an important next step in the development of Collaborative Combat Aircraft."

The missile was carried on one of the Fury's external underwing hardpoints, which currently accommodate one AMRAAM under each wing. The aircraft had first been photographed flying with inert AIM-120s in February 2026, part of a deliberate progression from captive-carry flights through simulated engagements to a live shot.

The Fury made its maiden flight on October 31, 2025 — 556 days after development began, an unusually rapid pace for a US military aircraft. It is one of two Increment 1 designs in the Air Force's CCA program, alongside General Atomics' YFQ-42A, which is expected to conduct its own live-fire test before the end of 2026. The semi-autonomous drones are designed to fly as armed wingmen for crewed fighters such as the F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor, extending their sensor reach and missile magazines. The service has said it eventually wants a fleet of about 1,000 CCAs.

Weapons and autonomy testing is set to intensify as the Air Force works toward fielding its first CCAs before the end of the decade. Officials say data from the Edwards live-fire campaign will validate the digital models used to design the aircraft's weapon employment sequence, a key step before operational units receive the type.