Fighter Jets Without Pilots: U.S. Air Force Takes Delivery of First A.I. Drones ‘Fury’ and ‘Vengeance’
Trending Topics Jakob Steinschaden
The Air Force just got its first two pilotless wingmen, Fury and Vengeance. They’re headed to operational use, not just test ranges, and Europe is still mostly talking.
Based on reporting by Trending Topics, Jakob Steinschaden — read the original for the full story.
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The U.S. Air Force has taken delivery of its first two autonomous wingman drones: Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury and General Atomics’ YFQ-42A Vengeance. Both were handed over to the Experimental Operations Unit at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, and the timing matters. The Fury arrived in August; the Vengeance followed a few days ago. This is the first time uncrewed combat aircraft of this class have gone to an operational unit instead of a test center.
These drones sit inside the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, better known as “loyal wingmen.” The idea is simple enough, even if the hardware is not: let the drones fly with crewed fighters like the F-35 and the future F-47, with pilots supervising from the lead aircraft. They can carry sensors, scout targets, run electronic warfare missions, and even deploy weapons. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink says putting CCA in the hands of airmen is how the service builds the program’s operational future.
Money and speed are part of the pitch. The Air Force wants each aircraft to cost about a third of an F-35A, and it has set a target average price of $20 million. The first batch is meant to reach at least 150 drones by the end of the decade, with up to 500 planned overall, according to FlightGlobal. For fiscal 2027, the service is asking for $1 billion in procurement money and another $1.4 billion for development.
There’s still a live competition here, not a finished victory lap. Anduril’s Fury is the biggest order in the company’s history, and the aircraft went from concept to delivery in less than three years, which is unusual speed in U.S. defense. General Atomics brings a longer drone pedigree through the Reaper and Predator. The split of future orders will depend on how both systems perform in Nevada.
Europe is chasing the same idea, but it is behind. Helsing has shown its CA-1 Europa, Airbus is building a Wingman for the German Air Force, and Saab is working with Helsing. Helsing also raised $1.8 billion from U.S. investors for the effort. In the U.S., though, these drones are already in the hands of an operational unit. That’s the difference between a program and a promise.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
This is the Pentagon doing what it rarely manages: moving from concept art to hardware before the briefing slides have gone stale. The real test isn’t whether the drones can look impressive on a tarmac; it’s whether the Air Force can keep the price near that $20 million target without turning “affordable mass” into another expensive slogan. And Europe’s favorite hobby of unveiling prototypes will not scare anyone in Nevada.
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