Posted on 11/03/2025 4:43:53 AM PST by Red Badger
The YFQ-44 Fury, Andurll's prototype for the Air Force's collaborative combat aircraft program, made its first flight somewhere in California. Anduril
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The neoprime contractor lagged behind General Atomics for the inaugural CCA flight test.
Anduril’s robot wingman has notched its first flight Friday, more than a month after the neoprime defense contractor blamed software woes and a push to make the inaugural takeoff semi-autonomous for the delay.
The takeoff happened at a testing location in California, the Air Force said in an emailed news release. Anduril’s prototype for the service’s combat collaborative combat aircraft competition has now joined one from General Atomics going from concept to first flight in less than two years.
“This milestone demonstrates how competition drives innovation and accelerates delivery,” said Air Force Secretary Troy Meink in a statement. “These flights are giving us the hard data we need to shape requirements, reduce risk, and ensure the CCA program delivers combat capability on a pace and scale that keeps us ahead of the threat.”
After General Atomics announced their successful first flight in late August, Anduril executives said in September that they wanted to make its first drone wingman flight test semi-autonomous, and blamed the delay on software problems.
Friday’s first flight was semi-autonomous, the company confirmed, and it built the software for the CCA. General Atomics’ drone wingman flight in August was not semi-autonomous.
“YFQ-44A was not designed to be a remotely-piloted aircraft, and that is not how we are operating it — from first flight and forever onward,” an Anduril news release said. “All of our taxi and flight tests have been and will continue to be semi-autonomous. This is a new age of air power; there is no operator with a stick and throttle flying the aircraft behind the scenes.”
General Atomics spokesperson C. Mark Brinkley congratulated Anduril on its milestone.
“This is a really small aviation community, and we all have friends and professional relationships on both sides, so it's good to see their hard work rewarded with success,” Brinkley said. “It's been a great week for the Air Force CCA program. Congratulations all around."
The Air Force’s competitive first increment production design is scheduled to be awarded in 2026.
Last month, Lockheed Martin announced it aimed to fly a CCA candidate of its own by 2027 which may compete in future competitions. Additionally, Boeing announced earlier this month it was designing a tiltrotor drone wingman to support the Army’s helicopter fleet.
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AVIATION Ping!.....................
“”This is a new age of air power; there is no operator with a stick and throttle flying the aircraft behind the scenes.””
I have no idea what this means but it’s a beautiful plane..Not piloted - help me out here, please. Thanks...
No pilot aircraft controls, no ‘dashboard’, no seats, no oxygen system, no pressurization system, none of those things necessary for a human pilot. Saves a ton of weight and cost. More room for weapons payload.................
To me, that's not the biggie. Human pilots have G-force limits drones do not. The planes we have been able to make for nearly 40 years can tolerate turns so tight that blood rushing from one side of the head to the other would kill said pilot. Hence, aircraft equipped with this type of system will be able to out-maneuver any piloted aircraft.
Where this kind of plane should go is to the X-29 wing style.
It may not be stealthy, but nothing would touch it.
Thanks - had to look up General Atomics...had not heard of it before. Interesting to find it in San Diego. Many members of my husband’s family (him included) were retirees from aerospace in L. A., and San Diego..My husband wasn’t a retiree but after college he did work at Aerojet in Sacramento - many long years ago. I can remember the NOISE from the testing of rocket engines..usually at night!
Do I have this straight - a drone carrying weapons? It’s so beautiful...
So, it is a flying Cyber cab? No steering wheel or pedals
No human accessible controls... Unnecessary............
The head of this company was on Rogan a few weeks ago. He was an interesting guy. It was worth dragging through Rogans usual BS.
One of the things he tries to do is build his products using machinery and materials that could be used in any major manufacturing facility. He pointed to how GM and Ford changed their manufacturing from cars to war material in WWII. This would be critical in any kind of longer conflict where we are not just burning through inventory.
I am pretty sure he wasn’t referring to THESE drones…but to the mid level arms that his company makes.
“Do I have this straight - a drone carrying weapons?”
Exactly, only it’s FULL SIZE.............
“It may not be stealthy, but nothing would touch it.”
Lasers................
Whatever idiot designed that plane put the cockpit where the engine is supposed to go and vise versa. How did no one see that?
Not only that, the pilot’s facing the wrong way.
He has to ‘cause the stupid thing flies backwards!
LOL, it was to make room for the avionics. As I was told, it had four computer systems that would "vote" among themselves in executing a maneuver. It was that unstable. The guy who did the FEA for those wings for the team at JPL was a professor of mine as an undergrad.
Mirrors. Pretty tough to heat a spot if you can't keep the beam on it. Resolution, precision, and response time all become problematic.
No pilot aircraft controls, no ‘dashboard’, no seats, no oxygen system, no pressurization system, none of those things necessary for a human pilot. Saves a ton of weight and cost. More room for weapons payload.................
Revelations 📖✖️
.
They put a lot of “X” into it besides just the wings. The canards, the center of balance, some other stuff. They made a flight simulator for PC sometime in the 90’s that included it. I don’t know how accurately they did the flight model but it seemed very maneuverable.
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