SHOT: F-22 Pilot Directs CCA in Flight as ‘Airborne QB.’

The human F-22 pilot acted as an “airborne quarterback” for the YFQ-44 drone by sending it high-level tactical directives, according to the Air Force statement. The YFQ-44’s on-board autonomy software then interpreted and carried out those orders in real time to carry out “dynamic flight maneuvers and simulated combat tasks,” the statement reads.

Anduril Industries, the manufacturer of the Fury, said in follow-up statements that the flight took place out of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., during the week of Oct. 5.

Mark Shushnar, Anduril’s vice president of autonomous airpower, said the Fury and F-22 both took off at Edwards, and then joined up midair. The Raptor pilot then sent an updated mission plan to the Fury CCA using a tactical data link, “commanding Fury through operationally relevant maneuvers from the cockpit of the crewed quarterback” fighter.

For this demonstration, the F-22 was controlling a single YFQ-44A. But the Air Force’s plan is to eventually have each fighter pilot capable of controlling multiple CCAs as a formation—extending the service’s combat mass and reach.

Very cool stuff, but here’s the chaser: World’s fastest AI-powered racing drone outflies the best human pilots.

The human QB will likely do less and less until he’s replaced, too — no matter how often certain folks insist on keeping a human in the loop.