Semi-autonomous combat aircraft tested in U.S. Air Force distributed operations exercise
NewsJuly 29, 2026
CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada. The U.S. Air Force tested YFQ-44A Fury collaborative combat aircraft during an Agile Combat Employment exercise intended to develop operating procedures for semi-autonomous aircraft, the service announced in a statement.
The multi-day exercise moved the uncrewed platforms beyond conventional flight testing and evaluated their use in a representative operational environment, the statement reads. The Collaborative Combat Aircraft Experimental Operations Unit generated multiple sorties and assessed aircraft servicing, refueling, weapons loading, and relaunch procedures.
The YFQ-44A aircraft also operated alongside crewed platforms in local airspace and participated in simulated scenarios intended to inform future collaborative combat aircraft requirements, according to the statement. Airmen loaded inert AIM-120 air-to-air missiles and evaluated the logistical footprint needed to operate the aircraft from dispersed and forward locations.
Personnel from the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center observed the exercise and collected data through a rapid operational-testing process, the service says.
Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force personnel also attended as the two countries work on platform-independent, open-architecture semi-autonomous systems intended to support data sharing and interoperability during combined operations, the statement adds.
