U.S. military F-35 and FQ-44 "Fury" unmanned combat aircraft formation flight test progress

The U.S. military's F-35 stealth fighter (left) and the FQ-44A Fury unmanned fighter jet fly in formation in the air, showing that the cooperative combat test of manned and unmanned fighter jets has entered the actual flight stage. (Picture: From Anduril Industries)

[Compiled by Chen Chengliang/Comprehensive Report] An unmanned fighter jet that does not require direct control by a pilot can now appear next to the F-35 stealth fighter. The FQ-44 Fury of Anduril Industries, a new U.S. defense company, has been handed over to the U.S. Air Force's experimental combat unit and flew in formation with the F-35 during testing. A single operator can complete takeoff and recovery after a few hours of training.

The U.S. Air Force's YFQ-44A Fury unmanned combat aircraft, which still used the YFQ-44A designation at the time, conducted weapons mounting training at Creech Air Force Base. The exercise was used to establish tactics and operating procedures for collaborative combat aircraft (CCA). (Photo: U.S. Air Force)

Anduril's official information shows that the FQ-44 is an unmanned aerial vehicle designed with autonomous mission capabilities as its core, and is used with the company's Lattice software system to perform tasks. The U.S. Air Force has conducted "Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA)" testing at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, allowing the FQ-44 to gradually move away from the pure flight test environment and enter the stage of operation and verification by Air Force personnel.

Please read on...

Test information recently released by Anduril indicates that the FQ-44 was handed over to Creech's experimental combat unit in August. During the test, a single Air Force operator was able to complete the takeoff and recovery of the Fury after receiving several hours of basic training, indicating that the operational process of this unmanned combat aircraft is moving in the direction of reducing manpower and equipment requirements.

F-35 pilots don’t need direct remote control

What is even more picturesque is that the FQ-44 has been flying in formation with the F-35 during testing. This means that manned and unmanned fighter aircraft can operate together in the same flight mission, and the F-35 pilot does not have to remotely control the Fury all the way; the unmanned aircraft relies on its own mission autonomy system to perform set tasks.

The FQ-44 has also undergone air-to-air weapons testing. Public information from the U.S. Air Force shows that this type of aircraft once launched an AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile and completed the air-to-air engagement process test. There are still people involved in the test to supervise the mission and weapon release, so it is not appropriate to interpret it as completely discretionary firing by the AI.

The U.S. Air Force officially named this cooperative combat aircraft the FQ-44 "Fury" in September and plans to expand the size of the CCA fleet. The FQ-44 is still in the testing, verification and production introduction stages, and will continue to conduct weapons integration and manned and unmanned fighter cooperative combat testing.