Anduril's YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft Completes First Flight
Anduril announced on 31 October that its YFQ-44A collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) completed its first flight, marking the start of its flight-testing phase.
The YFQ-44A demonstrator made this initial flight in late October 2025, occurring 556 days after development began, according to Jason Levin, senior vice-president of engineering for Air Dominance & Strike at Anduril.
Development Process and Flight Details
The rapid progress was driven by a strong focus on the development schedule, close cooperation with the customer—including shared access to Anduril's computer-aided design (CAD) data—and a straightforward vehicle design, a company spokesperson explained to Janes on 5 November.
The flight was performed in a semi-autonomous mode. This means there was no human operator actively controlling the aircraft using traditional flight controls. Instead, an operator launched the flight with the press of a button and supervised its progress.
“The aircraft executed the flightpath and landed on its own,” the spokesperson said.
Autonomy Clarification
Levin clarified that the YFQ-44A was not designed for remote piloting. He stated,
“All of our taxi and flight tests have been and will continue to be semi-autonomous.”
This approach highlights the aircraft’s capability to operate independently under supervision rather than direct manual control.
Author’s Summary
The YFQ-44A’s first semi-autonomous flight completes a rapid development cycle, demonstrating Anduril’s focus on simple design and close customer collaboration.