From 2017 startups to manufacturers, the FQ-44 provides the U.S. Air Force.✈️

From 2017 startups to manufacturers, the FQ-44 provides the U.S. Air Force.

✈️ Anduril Industries is moving from a new generation of defense technology companies into the U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft manufacturing field that was formerly long dominated by major contractors.

In April 2024, the U.S. Air Force selected Anduril and General Atomics to prototype the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Project, or CCA, with Anduril's Fury machine receiving the code YFQ-44A - the letter Y referring to the prototype machine for testing.

Most recently, June 17, 2026, the two companies were awarded full-scale development and production contracts for CCA Increment 1, namely Anduril's FQ-44 and General Atomics' FQ-42. The Air Force aims to procure more than 150 combat ready machines by the end of the decade and plans a long-term expansion to about 1,000.

The CCA is not just a conventional armed drone, but a semi-autonomous aircraft designed to work with piloted aircraft, enhancing detection range, electronic warfare, weapons loading, and the number of combat forces without putting the pilot's life at risk on every mission.

On July 15, 2026, the Air Force also announced that YFQ-44A test-fired AIM-120 missiles successfully at digital targets, but reiterated that it still gives humans control and approval for the use of weapons.

The statement that Anduril is "the first new company in nearly 50 years to win a major fighter program" comes from the company's own communications, so it should be used descriptively, not as an official Air Force conclusion.

The image is created to assemble the content, not the actual FQ-44 image.

Sources: U.S. Air Force - CCA Production Contract, U.S. Air Force - YFQ-44A Code Assignment, Anduril - Flight Test

# Anduril # USAirForce # FQ44 # Unmanned aerial vehicles # deepkub