US defence start-up Anduril Industries has begun assembling the company’s uncrewed tactical jet at a newly opened factory in Ohio.
California-headquartered Anduril revealed on 23 March that production work on the YFQ-44A autonomous fighter aircraft is now taking place at the company’s Arsenal-1 site in Columbus, Ohio.
Anduril announced its selection of Columbus as the location of the company’s first large-scale factory in early 2025. Until now, low-rate production of Anduril products, including YFQ-44A, was situated at the firm’s main campus in Costa Mesa, California.
The company declines to specify how many of the pilotless jets have been produced already, but at least two examples are known to be supporting the ongoing flight test campaign.
Arsenal-1 will not be dedicated to a specific product line, but will boast capability to deliver a range of the company’s products, including Roadrunner drone interceptors, the Barracuda family of cruise missiles and Fury autonomous fighter jets – the base design from which the US Air Force’s YFQ-44A prototype is derived.
That single-engined aircraft was developed for the USAF’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme and is now undergoing flight testing, alongside the rival YFQ-42A design from competitor General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
CCAs are intended to serve alongside the air force’s existing fighters, offering in-flight support in the form of additional weapons and attritable sensor platforms.
The Lockheed Martin F-22 air superiority fighter is the first USAF type that will operationally integrate with the new CCAs once they reach the frontlines.
Recent tests saw an F-22 control a General Atomics MQ-20 CCA surrogate, with the Raptor pilot demonstrating the ability to direct the MQ-20 to perform a combat air patrol and other tasks against airborne threats from the cockpit.
The air force has said it will select a winner in the first CCA competition as soon as this summer, delivering at least 100 aircraft orders for the winning company.
While Anduril would produce a future FQ-44A at Arsenal-1, General Atomics has not specified from where it would deliver operationally configured FQ-42As.
However, the company has previously told FlightGlobal that it has ample factory space available within its existing industrial footprint and could quickly scale up production in the event of a win.
Both companies have also announced partnerships with European manufacturers to offer local production of their CCA designs to interested customers across the Atlantic.
In 2025, General Atomics announced a collaboration with the company’s German affiliate General Atomics Aerotec Systems GmbH to offer a European-built derivative of its YFQ-42A for customers wanting a greater degree of local control.
Anduril has a similar partnership with German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall to offer local production of the Fury or specialised derivative to European operators seeking to develop an autonomous fighter capability.
