Overview
- Anduril’s YFQ-44A began captive-carry flights with inert AIM-120 missiles, marking the program’s first weapons-integration milestone with live-fire planned later in 2026.
- The Air Force reiterated that a human retains authority over any weapons release as testing progresses through safety and separation evaluations.
- A human-piloted F-22 recently issued real-time commands to a General Atomics MQ-20 at Edwards AFB, demonstrating practical manned–unmanned teaming.
- The service validated its government-owned Autonomy Government Reference Architecture by running Collins software on GA-ASI’s YFQ-42 and Shield AI software on Anduril’s YFQ-44.
- GA-ASI officially designated its prototype YFQ-42A “Dark Merlin,” reported multi-hour semi-autonomous operations, and is expected to start captive-carry tests soon as a competitive production decision is targeted for FY2026.