F-47’s loyal wingmen drones ‘huge deal’ for US sixth-gen air dominance programme

Full-scale models of the autonomous drones intended to serve alongside the US Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter jets were on display at the Paris Air Show this week, with an official from one maker confirming their development was focused on the Indo-Pacific.

Jackson Lingane, communications manager at Anduril Industries – a major supplier of unmanned platforms to the US Air Force – said that once commissioned, its YFQ-44 known as Fury, was likely to be deployed in flashpoints that included the Taiwan Strait.

“[The US Air Force] has been very transparent, it is focused on Indo-Pacific fights,” he said. “One of the reasons Anduril Industries is here at the Paris Air Show is we think the science and shape applied in Fury also has a lot of application for European allies.”

The YFQ-44 is included in the Increment 1 package of weapons for the F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet and its collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) drones that are in development as part of the US Air Force’s next-generation air dominance (NGAD) programme.

At the General Atomics booth, another full-scale model was on display – of its YFQ-42A drone that is also part of the NGAD’s Increment 1 programme.

The two drone types will act as loyal wingmen, flying alongside the piloted F-47. US President Donald Trump awarded the manufacturing contract for the sixth-generation fighter to Boeing in March.

South China Morning Post