Anduril Industries’ YFQ-44A Fury has begun armed flight testing, with the U.S. Air Force releasing the first image of the drone wingman carrying an AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) during captive carry evaluations.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach unveiled the photo during his keynote at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colorado, on February 23. The image shows the YFQ-44A fitted with an inert AIM-120 at an unspecified California test site, likely Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, where the aircraft completed its first flight on October 31, 2025.
We are moving with urgency & purpose to deliver game-changing capabilities to our warfighters. CCA inert captive carry testing is a deliberate step in our plan to build a more lethal & integrated @usairforce.https://t.co/S1zR1jMO1f pic.twitter.com/2OQDKd9A2n
— General Ken Wilsbach (@OfficialCSAF) February 24, 2026
“We are following the same detailed approach used in every other aircraft developmental test program to validate structural performance, flight characteristics and safe separation,” Wilsbach said. “This ensures the CCA can safely integrate inert weapons before future employment.”
The captive carry phase evaluates structural integrity, aerodynamic performance, and weapons system compatibility without live ordnance. A human retains authority over all weapons-release decisions throughout testing, Air Force officials emphasized.
General Atomics’ competing YFQ-42A Dark Merlin has not yet entered weapons integration testing. An Air Force spokesperson told Defense One the platform will begin captive carry flights “in the very near future.”
Both companies are vying for the Increment 1 production contract, with a competitive decision expected in fiscal year 2026. Northrop Grumman, also developing a CCA prototype, plans its first flight later this year.
