It’s increasingly apparent that the next fighter ace might not be human.
On July 15, 2026, the U.S. Air Force took a major step toward a new era of air combat: an unmanned fighter drone successfully fired an AIM-120 air-to-air missile during a live-fire test over the Mojave Desert. The aircraft was the YFQ-44A, built by Anduril, and it is part of America’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, or CCA.
The mission? Build robotic wingmen that can fly alongside F-35s and future sixth-generation fighters, extending their reach, carrying weapons, gathering intelligence, and taking on the most dangerous missions without putting another pilot in the cockpit. But this is not science fiction.
