The U.S. Department of the Air Force announced on October 16, 2026, that an F-22 Raptor pilot had directed one YFQ-44A earlier that month. The pilot issued high-level tactical directives, and the uncrewed aircraft’s onboard autonomy interpreted and carried them out during dynamic maneuvers and simulated combat tasks. The YFQ-44A is a Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCA, in the Air Force’s crewed-uncrewed teaming program.
How the pilot and onboard autonomy divided the work
The pilot supplied the high-level tactical direction; the YFQ-44A’s onboard software interpreted and executed those directives in real time. In this test, one F-22 directed one YFQ-44A. It was not a demonstration of one pilot controlling several uncrewed aircraft.
The Air Force described the activities as dynamic flight maneuvers and simulated combat tasks. The demonstration was a test, rather than an operational combat mission.
What the reported flight details add
Anduril vice president of autonomous airpower Mark Shushnar was reported to have said that both aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base during the week of October 5, joined up in the air, and used a tactical data link to send an updated mission plan to the YFQ-44A. The reported account also put the flight duration at multiple hours.
What the Air Force plans to do with the test data
The Air Force said the data will inform further software integration, developmental testing, and future CCA concepts. Personnel from six organizations or program units participated: the 412th Test Wing, 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, 309th Software Engineering Group, Experimental Operations Unit, F-22 System Program Office, and CCA Software Autonomy and Teaming Branch.
The Air Force’s stated program objectives include 500 combat-ready semi-autonomous systems by 2032 within an overall planned fleet of 1,000. Those are program goals; the October demonstration involved one YFQ-44A.
