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Anduril FQ-44 Fury

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FQ-44 Fury
YFQ-44 armed with an inert AIM-120 AMRAAM
General information
TypeLoyal wingman capable multirole unmanned fighter aircraft[1][2][3][4]
National origin
United States
ManufacturerAnduril Industries
StatusUnder development
Primary userUnited States Air Force
Number builtAt least 3[5][6]
History
First flight31 October 2025[7]

The Anduril FQ-44 Fury is an American multirole unmanned fighter aircraft with loyal wingman capabilities, currently under development by Anduril Industries.[1][4] The aircraft is one of the winning designs along with the General Atomics FQ-42 Vengeance for Increment I of the United States Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program and is intended to augment crewed fighter aircraft such as the F-15EX Eagle II, F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning, and the planned Boeing F-47 fighter for air-to-air missions through manned–unmanned teaming (MUM-T).

Development and design

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The FQ-44 was originally designed by Blue Force Technologies as an aggressor platform, initially called "Grackle" before being renamed "REDmedium" and eventually "Fury", to simulate high-end threats.[8] Blue Force Technologies was acquired by Anduril in 2023, and the Fury design was adapted as a submission for the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) CCA program.[9][10][11] The design was eventually selected as one of the two winners of the Increment I CCA alongside the General Atomics YFQ-42.[12]

The Fury's design as of 2023 is a fighter-like UCAV that is approximately half the dimensions of an F-16 Fighting Falcon. Its configuration consists of swept trapezoidal wings, a chin-mounted inlet, a cruciform tail arrangement with stabilators and a single vertical stabilizer, and weapons mounted on external hardpoints. The aircraft is designed to fly at up to 50,000 feet (15,200 m) and Mach 0.95, and capable of pulling a maximum of 9 g, while sustaining up to 4.5 g at about 20,000 feet (6,100 m). The Fury is to be powered by a single Williams FJ44-4M turbofan engine producing 4,000 pounds-force (17.8 kN) of thrust and has a maximum gross takeoff weight of 5,000 pounds (2,270 kg).[8] The design is expected to provide the USAF with "affordable mass" to augment its crewed fighters in air-to-air missions; its low cost nature, while not "attritable," enables users and commanders to take greater risks with them.[13] A mockup of the design was showcased during a September 2024 USAF conference.[14]

The aircraft received its formal designation during the 2025 Air & Space Forces Association symposium. Flight testing was expected to begin in the summer of 2025,[15] but it was still delayed into September 2025.[16] The first flight occurred on 31 October 2025.[7]

On 17 June 2026, the Air Force announced it had selected both the Fury and General Atomics' YFQ-42 for an initial production contract, with a combined 150 FQ-44s and FQ-42s to be built by 2030.[6] In September 2026 the FQ-44 was officially given the popular name of Fury by the Air Force.[17]

Variants

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  • YFQ-44A: Prototype aircraft tested by the U.S. Air Force.
  • FQ-44A: Production aircraft selected for the U.S. Air Force.[18]

Operators

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 United States

Specifications (estimated)

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Data from The War Zone[8][4] FlightGlobal[19]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 0 onboard
  • Length: 20 ft (6.1 m)
  • Wingspan: 17 ft (5.2 m)
  • Max takeoff weight: 5,000 lb (2,268 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Williams FJ44-4M turbofan, 4,000 lbf (18 kN) thrust

Performance

  • Maximum speed: Mach 0.95
  • Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
  • g limits: +9 / −3

Armament

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

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  1. 1 2 "Anduril Wins Production Contract for U.S. Air Force CCA Program". Anduril Industries. 17 June 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  2. ↑ Mehta, Aaron; Marrow, Michael (17 June 2026). "Air Force picks General Atomics, Anduril to build first CCA drone wingmen". Breaking Defense. Archived from the original on 18 June 2026. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  3. ↑ Indux (5 July 2026). "Anduril will build the USAF's first semi-autonomous FQ-44 Fury fighters, designed to fly as loyal wingmen alongside the F-35 and F-22". Vozpópuli. Archived from the original on 10 July 2026. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Newdick, Thomas (15 September 2026). "YFQ-44A Fury Has Been Fit Checked With Air-To-Ground Munitions". TWZ. Archived from the original on 16 September 2026. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  5. ↑ "Air Force validates open architecture, expands Collaborative Combat Aircraft ecosystem". US Air Force. 12 February 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  6. 1 2 Trevithick, Joseph (17 June 2026). "USAF Orders Both General Atomics' FQ-42 And Anduril's FQ-44 Into Production". The Warzone.
  7. 1 2 Trevithick, Joseph (31 October 2025). "Anduril's YFQ-44 Fury 'Fighter' Drone Has Flown". Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 Trevithick, Joseph; Rogoway, Tyler (11 September 2023). "The Rise of Fury". The War Zone.
  9. ↑ Parmar, Abhinav; Stone, Mike (6 September 2023). "Palmer Luckey's defense tech startup Anduril buys autonomous aircraft maker". Reuters. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  10. ↑ Decker, Audrey (23 September 2024). "Dueling robot wingmen take the stage". Defense One.
  11. ↑ Insinna, Valerie (10 September 2024). "Anduril, General Atomics to showcase drone wingmen models at Air Force conference next week". Breaking Defense.
  12. ↑ Tirpak, John (25 April 2024). "Anduril and General Atomics to Develop New Collaborative Combat Aircraft for Air Force". Air & Space Forces Magazine. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  13. ↑ Finnerty, Ryan (19 September 2024). "USAF's first autonomous combat jets will act as air-to-air 'missile trucks' for crewed fighters". FlightGlobal.
  14. ↑ D'Urso, Stefano (17 September 2024). "Anduril And General Atomics Showcase Collaborative Combat Aircraft Mockups". The Aviationist.
  15. ↑ Gordon, Chris (3 March 2025). "America's First Unmanned Fighters Are Here: YFQ-42 and YFQ-44". Air and Space Forces Magazine. Air and Space Forces Association.
  16. ↑ "Anduril's Fury Will Take Off For The First Time At The Touch Of A Button". TWZ. 22 September 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  17. ↑ Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs (14 September 2026). "SecAF announces names of new Collaborative Combat Aircraft".
  18. ↑ Losey, Stephen (17 June 2026). "Air Force Selects Both General Atomics and Anduril for CCA Production". Air & Space Forces Magazine.
  19. ↑ Finnerty, Ryan (September 2026). "Anduril integrating additional weapons onto FQ-44 uncrewed fighter". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
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