The Air Force and defense contractors are touting aircraft and helmet developments that could become components in a “loyal wingman” system allowing pilots to control uncrewed drones paired with crewed warplanes in combat.
The Air Force reported it had successfully test-fired an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile from a wingman drone.
The YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft locked on and fired the missile at a digital target “in secluded airspace over the Mojave Desert,” the service said in a July 15 news release. The date of the test was not revealed.
“We’re one step closer to delivering capabilities to the warfighter,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said in the statement.
The YFQ-44A, built by Anduril Industries, looks like a fighter jet but has no cockpit. It’s meant to fly and fight alongside piloted aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, F-15EX Eagle and the proposed “sixth generation” F-47. The YFQ-44A has a service ceiling of 50,000 feet and a top speed of just under Mach 1 (the speed of sound).
“Loyal wingman” drones are being touted as a force multiplier for squadrons in combat by increasing the number of platforms that can be involved in an attack while reducing the exposure of human pilots to the most dangerous portions of a mission. The Air Force said in April 2025 that “human-machine pairing” is a top goal in developing future tactics for air combat and support missions.
Anduril said the production line at its Arsenal-1 facility in Ohio is capable of delivering up to 150 YFQ-44As per year.
Anduril on Monday unveiled Thunder, an autonomous attack rotorcraft that can operate in traditional or vertical takeoff mode and has a tiltrotor mode for faster horizontal flight. It’s rated as a Group 5 aircraft, the largest sized drones with takeoff weights over 1,320 pounds.
Thunder could operate as an uncrewed wingman alongside crewed rotary aircraft. Its first flight is expected next year, Anduril said in a statement.
“It’s specifically designed to multiply the combat power of current and next-generation crewed attack and assault aircraft,” the company said.
Anduril said Thunder’s tiltrotor configuration combines vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) with efficient horizontal cruise, enabling “runway-independent operations from austere locations without the range constraints of traditional rotorcraft.”
Anduril said Thunder could be used for long-range attacks, surveillance and reconnaissance, maritime and anti-submarine patrol, search-and-rescue and moving cargo into contested zones on battlefields.
Thunder was unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show in Britain, where another potential step in the development of the “loyal wingman” concept also had a showing.
BAE Systems presented a developmental model of its planned Project Intuity pilot flight helmet. The company said it would help pilots integrate the performance and mission of multiple platforms that could be under their control at the same time.
“As allies move towards aircraft that act as combat command centers, future operations will demand that pilots process more information from more sources than ever before,” said Andrew Macklin-Smith, a BAE spokesman. “We’re addressing that challenge by integrating the technologies to allow pilots to command fleets of drones in the skies.
“This system will achieve that by filtering and presenting the most important information clearly and within the pilot’s natural field of view.”