“We executed the first weapons shot from YFQ-44A, an important milestone in turning CCA into an operational capability,” Mark Shushnar, Anduril’s vice president of Autonomous Airpower, said after the test.
The Edwards AFB live-fire: first AIM-120 launch from a U.S. CCA-type drone
Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) fired an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) in a live, beyond-line-of-sight engagement during testing conducted from Edwards Air Force Base in California. The Air Force described the event as the first live-fire of a munition from any U.S. CCA-type drone, and said the missile launch occurred “in secluded airspace over the Mojave Desert” against a “digital target.”
How the test was executed and validated
The Air Force said the live-fire was coordinated with the 412th Test Wing’s Air Dominance Combined Test Force, a team composed of active-duty military, government civilians, and government contractors. The service described a phased progression leading up to the weapons shot: initial inert weapons captive carry flights to collect in-flight handling data, followed by validation of data link integration between aircraft and weapon systems in simulated environments. According to the Air Force, the test demonstrated an end-to-end sequence: YFQ-44A departed Edwards, Anduril’s Lattice software ingested a target track, an operator tasked the aircraft, and the YFQ-44A fired the AIM-120 as instructed.
YFQ-44A configuration and program context
In its current configuration the YFQ-44 carries stores externally on one hardpoint under each wing. The YFQ-44A is one of two drones in Increment 1 of the Air Force’s CCA program; the other is General Atomics’ YFQ-42A Dark Merlin. The Air Force announced orders for production versions of both designs last month, which the service said will form a mixed initial operational CCA fleet.
Comparisons with other CCA live-fire firsts: Turkey and Australia
The Air Force is not the first to conduct live-fire munitions launches from CCA-type drones. In December 2025 a Turkish Kizilelma drone launched a pair of domestically produced Gökdoğan air-to-air missiles, one of which was fired at a physical target drone. Also in December 2025, the Royal Australian Air Force, in cooperation with Boeing, test-fired an AMRAAM from an MQ-28 Ghost Bat; that missile successfully engaged an Australian-made Phoenix jet-powered target drone. By contrast, General Atomics’ YFQ-42A has not been seen carrying a munition, inert or live, though the Air Force and General Atomics have said the YFQ-42A is on track to conduct a live-fire launch later this year.
What this means for the U.S. Air Force, Anduril, and General Atomics
- The U.S. Air Force: The service said the event “continues the rapid pace of developmental testing for safe and effective CCA operations,” and emphasized that the initial CCA fleet’s main mission will be air-to-air combat while also increasing the sensor reach of crewed fighters. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach called the test “an important next step in the development of Collaborative Combat Aircraft,” and the Air Force stated it aims to begin fielding its first CCAs before the end of the decade.
- Anduril: The live-fire validated digital integration between Anduril’s Lattice software, operator tasking, and weapon execution on the YFQ-44A, marking a major program milestone for the company’s Fury design.
- General Atomics: With the YFQ-42A Dark Merlin part of Increment 1 and production orders announced for both designs, General Atomics remains on the program path and, per public reporting, is slated to conduct a live-fire later this year to demonstrate its platform’s weapons capability.
Air Force officials framed CCAs as a way to add “mass” to future operations, reduce risk to crewed platforms, and open new tactical possibilities — explicitly linking potential utility to “high-end fights against opponents such as China.” Moving from inert carriage earlier in the year to a live weapon release, the service said, allows validation of digital integration models with actual data and demonstrates that CCAs can execute weapon employment sequences autonomously within pilot-defined parameters.
The YFQ-44A live-fire closes one chapter in weapons integration testing while leaving others open: the YFQ-42A’s planned live-fire later this year, further operational validation, and the ramp-up of weapons and other testing as the Air Force pursues initial fielding by decade’s end. For now, the Mojave Desert shot stands as the first U.S. CCA AIM-120 launch and a tangible data point in the program’s push from captive-carry and simulation to operational capability.
