USAF Conducts Experimental Tests of Anduril’s YFQ-44A CCA Drone

Anduril’s YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone has undergone US Air Force (USAF) experimental testing to refine its future integration and operational use.

Airmen from the Experimental Operations Unit (EOU), under Air Combat Command, flew sorties with support from the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. 

Responsible for developing the concepts, tactics, and sustainment processes to transition the YFQ-44A into an operational capability, EOU warfighters — rather than engineers or test pilots — led hands-on efforts to deploy, operate, and sustain the drone prototypes.

“We are learning by doing, at a speed and risk tolerance accepted by the USAF’s most senior leaders, to ensure CCA is ready to operate and win in the most demanding combat environments,” said EOU Commander Lt. Col. Matthew Jensen.

Minimal Crew, Rapid Deployment

The YFQ-44A was designed to be easy to operate and maintain, requiring a limited crew and minimal gear.

Only “a handful of EOU maintainers with just days’ worth of training” were involved in the exercise, a fraction of the typically larger number needed for traditional drones. 

In a simulated forward operating base during the exercise, EOU operators used Anduril’s Menace-T ruggedized laptop-based C4 (command, control, communications, compute) system.

Menace-T, with just two Pelican cases and a laptop, handled mission planning, initiating autonomous taxi and takeoff, in-flight tasking, and post-flight data checks. 

The system skipped the need for large fixed infrastructure, showing potential use for rapid deployment and a low logistics footprint.

These features align the YFQ-44A with the USAF’s broader Agile Combat Employment strategy of deploying small and scattered teams to operate from multiple locations, enhancing survivability in contested environments. 

Fast-Paced Program

CCA aims to develop autonomous or semi-autonomous drones to operate alongside crewed fighters as their “loyal wingmen” performing varied missions, including strike, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare.

The US Air Force chose the drone prototypes from Anduril and General Atomics in April 2024 to compete in the CCA program’s Increment I, with both completing the critical design review in November 2024 and beginning ground tests in May 2025.

YFQ-44A began experimental testing with the EOU six months after completing its maiden flight in October 2025.

A production decision is expected this summer, as deployment of the first CCA drones is slated for the end of the decade.