US Air Force says an F-22 pilot directed a YFQ-44A Fury drone in flight

The US Air Force said in a release dated Friday 16 October 2026 that an F-22 Raptor pilot directed a YFQ-44A Fury collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), an uncrewed jet built by Anduril, while both aircraft were in flight. The release says the Department of the Air Force "executed airborne tactical command and in-flight control of a YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft from an F-22 Raptor earlier this month". Air & Space Forces Magazine and TWZ also reported it on 16 October.

What the Air Force says happened

The release says an F-22 pilot served as an airborne “quarterback”, "issuing high-level tactical directives to a single YFQ-44A". It continues: "The aircraft’s onboard autonomy software interpreted and executed those directives in real time, conducting dynamic flight maneuvers and simulated combat tasks."

• One drone. The release says the pilot directed "a single YFQ-44A". Air & Space Forces Magazine reports that the Air Force's plan is to "eventually" have each fighter pilot control multiple CCAs.
• Who took part. The release lists the 412th Test Wing, the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, the 309th Software Engineering Group, the Experimental Operations Unit, the F-22 System Program Office and the CCA Software Autonomy and Teaming Branch.
• What the data is for. The release says the Department "will use data from this test milestone to inform continued software integration, developmental testing and the Air Force’s future CCA concepts".

Neither the Air Force nor Anduril gave further details of how the F-22 was configured for the test, TWZ reports.

What Anduril adds

Anduril's statements, as reported by both outlets, give more detail than the Air Force's. Air & Space Forces Magazine reports Anduril said the flight took place out of Edwards Air Force Base, California, "during the week of Oct. 5". In Anduril's words, quoted by TWZ, the Fury and the F-22 both took off from Edwards and "joined up midair", and "the Raptor pilot sent an updated mission plan to Fury using a tactical data link".

Mark Shushnar, Anduril's vice president of autonomous airpower, said the mission lasted multiple hours and was a success, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. He also said: "The U.S. Air Force’s CCA program is the fastest moving, most mature CCA program anywhere in the world, and will be the first to field operational aircraft". That is the company's claim.

On the word "first": TWZ reports that an Anduril spokesperson confirmed this was a first for an F-22 and a pre-production YFQ-44A. It is not the first time an F-22 has controlled a drone in flight. In November 2025, TWZ reported General Atomics' announcement that an F-22 pilot had directed its MQ-20 Avenger on a mock mission; TWZ said the company-funded event "took place back in October in the skies over the U.S. Air Force’s sprawling Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR)". In May 2026, Air & Space Forces Magazine described that October 2025 event as "followed by another F-22/MQ-20 flight in February at Edwards Air Force Base". The same magazine says that for more than five years the Air Force has used the MQ-20 Avenger as a test aircraft and “surrogate” CCA.

What officials said

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said in the release: "This flight shows the power of crewed-uncrewed teaming and the advantage it provides our warfighters". He added: "We must test often, learn fast and give commanders what they need, when they need it."

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in the release: "This achievement demonstrates what is possible when we are aligned with industry on a shared imperative: delivering capability to the warfighter at unprecedented speed".

The wider programme

• Numbers. Air & Space Forces Magazine reports the Air Force wants 500 CCAs in the field by 2032 and eventually a fleet of 1,000 or more. TWZ describes the goal as "at least 500 Increment 1 CCAs by 2032".
• Two designs. The first increment includes General Atomics' FQ-42 and Anduril's FQ-44 and is focused on the air-to-air mission, Air & Space Forces Magazine reports, with a target cost of at most $20 million per air vehicle, excluding sensors and weapons.
• Next step. TWZ reports that Fury and General Atomics' Vengeance are set to take part in Exercise Emerald Flag, which an Air Force officer said at a September conference is "in December".

The UK position

In a House of Lords written answer on 16 October, defence minister Lord Coaker said a defence investment plan commitment of "over £5 billion by 2030 in autonomous systems" will "support capabilities including the Hybrid Navy, uncrewed ground vehicles and Collaborative Combat Aircraft", while "retaining appropriate human responsibility and accountability". We covered that answer in Daily Update, 17 October 2026: UK says it will see what lessons apply from the US Autonomous Warfare Command.

Why it matters

On our reading, the release describes a pilot giving high-level instructions and the drone's own software deciding how to carry them out, with one aircraft and in a test setting. TWZ notes that F-22s are set to be the first aerial "quarterbacks" for CCAs once they enter service. It says "tablet-based interfaces are a workable option", but that "questions and criticisms about increased workload, especially for pilots in single-seat fighters, have been raised in the past". Because the Air Force and Anduril did not describe the F-22's set-up, how that was handled on this flight is not public.