Anduril adds munitions options to FQ-44 Fury autonomous fighter

Anduril Industries has begun integration work to widen the weapon options for its FQ-44 Fury autonomous fighter, the company says. The move follows a July test in which a YFQ-44 prototype fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile.

Jason Levin, Anduril's senior vice-president of air dominance, said the company is now looking at a broader set of munitions. Candidates include a 227kg (500lb) gravity bomb, Boeing's Small Diameter Bomb glide weapon, Anduril's own Barracuda 500 low-cost cruise missile, rocket pods and targeting pods.

Levin said the aircraft's external hard points have let the company begin integration and fit checks with other munitions, and that further air-to-air weapons are under review.

An external targeting pod is also being considered. It would allow the aircraft to take on missions beyond strike, including counter-drone and counter-cruise-missile roles.

A full-scale FQ-44 displayed at the Air & Space Forces Association conference near Washington, DC, this week carried four AMRAAMs on underwing hard points. Levin said production FQ-44 collaborative combat aircraft will have four weapons stations and will carry AMRAAM missiles while still meeting their flight performance requirements.

The US Air Force plans for collaborative combat aircraft, a category that includes the FQ-44 and General Atomics' FQ-42, to initially operate in supporting roles alongside crewed fighters.