U.S. Air Force fires first-ever live AMRAAM from an autonomous wingman drone

Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury combat drone has fired a live AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile for the first time by any U.S. ‘collaborative combat aircraft’ (CCA).

Representative image: Autonomous combat aircraft (representative)

The test took place on 10 July 2026 over California’s Mojave Desert and was confirmed on 15 July by both the U.S. Air Force and Anduril. The YFQ-44A took off from Edwards Air Force Base; Anduril’s Lattice software ingested a target track, an operator tasked the aircraft to engage, and the YFQ-44A fired an AIM-120 as instructed.

The end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight strike against a simulated target is a first for any U.S. CCA-type drone. The decision to release any weapon remains exclusively with a human operator; the drone can execute the engagement sequence autonomously within pilot-defined parameters, but command and control stays with a human.

How the test worked

After takeoff, the Lattice software processed a target track; a human operator tasked the aircraft to engage, and the drone fired the AIM-120 as instructed. The U.S. Air Force stressed that the weapon-release decision remains exclusively with a human operator and that command and control stays with a human at all times.

The shot shows the program moving from the inert (non-firing) carriage earlier in the year to live weapon release — meaning the CCA concept is entering a maturity phase.

Why the CCA concept matters

Collaborative combat aircraft are designed as relatively cheap, numerous unmanned ‘wingmen’ flying alongside crewed fighters. The aim is to expand a crewed jet’s sensing and firepower while spreading risk and cost.

A live AMRAAM shot proves these drones can be not just sensor carriers but active participants in air-to-air engagement — a concrete sign that future air warfare is evolving toward human-machine teaming.

Regional and strategic meaning

The CCA program is central to the U.S. strategy of sustaining air superiority through numerical depth. Adding many attritable unmanned wingmen alongside expensive, low-quantity fifth/sixth-generation jets boosts both deterrence and resilience.

For countries running their own combat-UAV programs, Turkey included, this test is a milestone: unmanned platforms carrying and employing air-to-air missiles widens the limits of combat-UAV doctrine.