Anduril's YFQ-44A CCA makes first flight

Anduril’s YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft Completes First Flight

Anduril announced on 31 October that its YFQ-44A collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) successfully completed its first flight, marking the start of flight testing. The demonstrator conducted this milestone flight in late October 2025, 556 days after development began, according to Jason Levin, senior vice-president of engineering for Air Dominance & Strike at Anduril.

The rapid progress was driven by a strong focus on meeting the schedule, close teamwork with the customer—including sharing Anduril’s computer-aided design (CAD) files—and a straightforward vehicle design, a company representative told Janes on 5 November.

Details of the First Flight

The flight was semi-autonomous, meaning no pilot was controlling the aircraft manually. As explained by the spokesperson, “there was no human operator flying the aircraft behind the scenes with a stick and throttle.” Instead, an operator supervised and launched the flight with a single button press.

“The aircraft executed the flightpath and landed on its own,” the spokesperson said.

Levin added that the YFQ-44A is not intended for remote piloting. “All of our taxi and flight tests have been and will continue to be semi-autonomous,” he confirmed.

Author's summary: Anduril’s YFQ-44A CCA completed its maiden semi-autonomous flight swiftly after development began, highlighting streamlined design and close collaboration with the customer.

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Janes Janes — 2025-11-06

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