Anduril awaits the US 2027 budget to produce the FQ-44
In the United States, Anduril will not be able to begin production of FQ-44 Fury drones under an Air Force contract until Congress approves defense appropriations for fiscal year 2027. Erin Simpson, the company’s vice president for execution strategy, said this at the Air & Space Forces Association conference in National Harbor, Maryland, Breaking Defense reports.
In June, the US Air Force awarded production contracts to Anduril and General Atomics for the first stage of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. Anduril has already invested its own funds in a new production facility and begun purchasing components with long lead times, but it needs fiscal year 2027 appropriations to begin work under the contract.
Temporary funding
Earlier in September, the US Congress approved a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government. It will maintain spending at the fiscal year 2026 level through December 11 and limits the US Department of Defense’s ability to launch new programs.
Simpson suggested that if Congress adopts new temporary funding in December instead of a budget, it could include a separate exemption allowing work to begin under the CCA production contract. According to her, Anduril is ready to work with the US Air Force to justify such a decision.
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Prototypes and testing
Jason Levin, Anduril’s senior vice president of engineering, said that the Arsenal-1 facility near Columbus, Ohio, can produce up to 150 Fury aircraft per year. At the same time, the current volume of US Air Force orders has not yet reached that level.
While the company awaits funding for FQ-44 production, it is manufacturing YFQ-44 prototypes at Arsenal-1. Anduril was the first of the two contractors to deliver a prototype to the US Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit. In July, the service reported that the YFQ-44 was the first CCA to successfully complete a test involving an AMRAAM air-to-air missile.
The company is also integrating other munitions at its own expense, including 500-pound guided bombs, small-diameter bombs, and low-cost Barracuda 500 cruise missiles. During additional tests at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, Air Force operators independently launched and recovered the aircraft and controlled it using autonomous mission execution software. Fury has already flown in formation with an F-35, and Anduril has begun integration work intended to allow a fighter pilot to control the drone from a tablet.
