F-22 pilot controlled YFQ-44A drone in flight — Defense News

A pilot of an F-22 Raptor fighter conducted airborne tactical control of a YFQ-44A Fury unmanned aircraft. He transmitted high-level commands to the aircraft, while Fury’s onboard autonomy software interpreted and executed them in real time, including performing maneuvers and simulated combat missions.

Defense News reported on the demonstration, citing the U.S. Air Force. The Anduril-made Fury is part of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, under which the Air Force is developing semi-autonomous systems.

Data for further testing

The demonstration involved specialists from the 412th Test Wing, the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, the 309th Software Engineering Group, the Experimental Operations Unit, the F-22 program office, and the CCA autonomy and collaboration software division.

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The U.S. Air Force plans to use data from the demonstration for software integration, further developmental testing, and development of CCA concepts.

Development of the CCA program

Previously, the U.S. Air Force said it intended to have 500 combat-ready semi-autonomous systems by 2032, while the total fleet is expected to reach 1,000 units. In July, Fury underwent its first live-fire test: the aircraft carried out a beyond-line-of-sight strike against a simulated target.

The Air Force is also continuing tests of the General Atomics-made FQ-42A Vengeance. Last month, the aircraft was delivered to Creech Air Force Base in Nevada for further routine test and evaluation operations.