Combat drone YFQ-44A: Anduril begins flight testing its CCA aircraft

Anduril has recently begun flight testing its YFQ-44A collaborative combat aircraft. The combat drone was developed under the CCA programme; it is intended to gain and maintain air superiority in contested environments, with the emphasis on autonomy and numbers. The test campaign is now to demonstrate, among other things, speed, manoeuvrability, autonomy, stealth technology and range, as well as the integration of weapon systems.

The YFQ-44A was designed for greater survivability, more lethality and better mission effectiveness. The tests are also to prove that several unmanned systems can operate together with manned ones; the necessary concepts and tactics are being developed during testing.

From design to first flight in 556 days

Top priority in the CCA programme is a fast ramp-up speed, i.e. the ability to build a considerable number of aircraft in a short time. In a press release worded in places in martial terms, Anduril writes: “One thing is clear: our adversaries are not waiting for us. Only by achieving affordable mass production and bringing new, smarter aircraft to the ramp can we successfully deter conflicts between great powers”.

This high pace was maintained for the semi-autonomous aircraft. Only 556 days passed from the first design to the maiden flight, i.e. just over one and a half years – considerably less than in other combat aircraft programmes.

A semi-autonomous combat drone without a control stick

The YFQ-44A is not remotely piloted – it is a semi-autonomous system. There is therefore no pilot behind the scenes with stick and throttle. Instead, the aircraft executes a mission plan independently, controls its flight, regulates thrust without human commands and returns to land at the push of a button. Overseeing everything is an operator who is “on the loop”, but not in it.

Purpose-built software drives the YFQ-44A. In the air, the fully integrated weapon system processes the incoming data, identifies targets and directs effects – increasing the lethality and effectiveness of the entire team. On the ground, the software monitors and manages, among other things, maintenance and the condition of the vehicle; upkeep is optimised so that it is ready to fly at any time.

Production bottleneck

Anduril still lacks the capacity to produce the targeted numbers. The company is therefore investing in Arsenal-1, a 460,000-square-metre production facility due to start operations at the beginning of next year. The first project at the new site will be the YFQ-44A. To reach the desired production volume, however, Anduril is also pursuing other approaches.

A new production system is currently being tested, for example: via a common software backbone called ArsenalOS, it multiplies the impact of the design-for-manufacturing decisions made during the development of the YFQ-44A. By concentrating on simple, mature and low-risk production technologies, YFQ-22A is to enter series production. This has already more than doubled the aircraft's production speed.