훈련에서 F-22가 YFQ-44A 퓨리 CCA 통제

[위종민]

10월 16일 발표에 따르면 10월 중 F-22가 YFQ-44A 퓨리 CCA에 상위 수준의 전술 지시를 전달하는 '공중 쿼터백' 역할을 수행했다고 합니다. 

모하비 사막 상공을 비행하는 YFQ-44A 협동전투항공기(CCA). 2026년 10월 실시된 시험에서 F-22 조종사가 비행 중 YFQ-44A를 통제하는 능력을 시연했다. 미 공군 사진, Jennifer Healy

# F-22 조종사, ‘공중 쿼터백’으로서 비행 중 CCA 지휘

2026년 10월 16일 | 스티븐 로지

10월 16일 발표에 따르면, 미 공군 F-22 조종사가 이달 두 항공기가 모두 비행 중인 상태에서 YFQ-44A 퓨리 협동전투항공기(CCA)를 통제했다. 이는 미 공군이 야심 차게 추진하는 CCA 사업에서 또 하나의 중요한 이정표다.

미 공군 발표에 따르면 유인 F-22 조종사는 YFQ-44 드론에 상위 수준의 전술 지시를 전달하는 ‘공중 쿼터백’ 역할을 수행했다. 이후 YFQ-44에 탑재된 자율비행 소프트웨어가 이러한 명령을 실시간으로 해석하고 실행해 “역동적인 비행기동과 모의 전투임무”를 수행했다고 발표문은 설명했다.

퓨리의 제작사인 안두릴 인더스트리즈는 후속 발표를 통해 해당 비행이 10월 5일이 포함된 주에 캘리포니아주 에드워즈 공군기지에서 실시됐다고 밝혔다.

안두릴의 자율항공전력 담당 부사장 마크 슈슈너는 퓨리와 F-22가 모두 에드워즈에서 이륙한 뒤 공중에서 합류했다고 말했다. 이후 랩터 조종사는 전술 데이터링크를 이용해 퓨리 CCA에 갱신된 임무계획을 전송했으며, “쿼터백 역할을 수행하는 유인 전투기의 조종석에서 작전상 의미 있는 기동을 수행하도록 퓨리를 지휘했다.”

이번 시연에서 F-22는 YFQ-44A 한 대만 통제했다. 그러나 미 공군의 계획은 궁극적으로 각 전투기 조종사가 여러 대의 CCA를 편대 형태로 통제할 수 있도록 해 공군의 전투전력 규모와 작전범위를 확대하는 것이다.

케네스 S. 윌즈바흐 미 공군참모총장은 성명에서 이번 시연이 “유·무인 협동의 위력과 그것이 우리 장병들에게 제공하는 이점을 보여준다”고 평가하면서, 이를 바탕으로 신속하게 발전시켜 나가겠다고 약속했다.

“우리는 자주 시험하고, 빠르게 배우며, 지휘관들이 필요로 하는 것을 필요한 시점에 제공해야 합니다.” 그는 말했다.

트로이 마인크 미 공군장관 역시 이번 비행을 높이 평가하면서 신속한 추진의 필요성을 강조했다.

“이번 성과는 전투원에게 전례 없는 속도로 능력을 제공한다는 공동의 최우선 과제를 놓고 우리가 산업계와 보조를 맞출 때 무엇이 가능한지를 보여줍니다.” 마인크는 성명에서 말했다. “우리는 신속한 통합과 비행시험을 통한 학습에서부터 체계적인 평가에 이르기까지 획득사업의 모든 단계에 속도감을 불어넣고 있습니다. 이를 통해 유망한 기술을 위협이 요구하는 속도로 실전능력으로 전환할 수 있도록 하고 있습니다.”

슈슈너에 따르면 이번 임무는 여러 시간 동안 계속됐으며 성공적으로 끝났다. 그는 이번 시연이 실전 운용 가능한 CCA 사업을 구축하기 위한 진전이 얼마나 빠르게 이뤄지고 있는지 보여준다고 말했다.

“미 공군의 CCA 사업은 세계 어느 곳의 CCA 사업보다도 가장 빠르게 진행되고 가장 성숙한 사업이며, 실전 운용 항공기를 가장 먼저 배치하게 될 것입니다.” 슈슈너는 말했다. “그 단계에 도달하려면 안두릴과 미 공군이 협력해 능력을 입증하고, 작전 절차를 정립하며, 운용자들과 그들의 반자율형 윙맨 사이에 신뢰를 구축해야 합니다.”

미 공군은 이번 시험에서 확보한 자료가 향후 소프트웨어 통합, 개발시험, 미래 CCA 운용개념에 도움이 될 것이라고 밝혔다.

이번 시험에는 에드워즈 공군기지의 제412시험비행단, 네바다주 넬리스 공군기지의 제422시험평가대대, 유타주 힐 공군기지의 제309소프트웨어공학단, 네바다주 크리치 공군기지의 CCA 실험운용부대, F-22 체계사업실, CCA 소프트웨어 자율성 및 협동 부서의 인원들이 참가했다.

미 공군은 이전에도 CCA를 대신하는 ‘대체시험기’인 제너럴 아토믹스의 MQ-20 어벤저를 이용해 비행시험을 실시한 바 있다. 2월에는 공중에 있는 F-22가 MQ-20 어벤저를 통제했고, 5월에는 지상에 머물러 있던 F-35가 비행 중인 어벤저를 통제했다.

미 공군은 2032년까지 CCA 500대를 실전배치하고, 궁극적으로 1,000대 이상의 항공기단을 구축해 공대공 공격, 공대지 공격, 정보·감시·정찰, 전자전 등 다양한 임무를 수행하도록 할 계획이다. 제너럴 아토믹스의 FQ-42와 안두릴의 FQ-44가 포함된 첫 번째 개발 단계는 공대공 임무에 초점을 맞추고 있다. 미 공군은 CCA가 탑재할 수 있는 센서, 무장 또는 기타 장비의 비용을 제외하고, 항공기 자체의 가격을 대당 최대 2,000만 달러로 제한하기를 원한다.

CCA 사업은 주로 공중에 있는 조종사와 무인항공기의 유·무인 협동에 초점을 맞춰왔지만, 미 공군은 지상 통제소를 이용해 공군 장병들이 CCA를 지휘할 수 있는 능력도 개발하고 있다.

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

A YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft flies over the Mojave Desert. An F-22 pilot demonstrated in-flight control of a YFQ-44A in an October 2026 test. U.S. Air Force photo by Jennifer Healy

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

Oct. 16, 2026 | By Stephen Losey

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A U.S. Air Force F-22 pilot controlled a YFQ-44A Fury Collaborative Combat Aircraft this month while both aircraft were in flight, according to an Oct. 16 release, another milestone in the service’s ambitious CCA efforts.

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.

In a statement, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said the demo “shows the power of crewed-uncrewed teaming and the advantage it provides our warfighters” and pledged to build on it quickly.

“We must test often, learn fast, and give commanders what they need, when they need it,” he said.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink also touted the need to move quickly in touting the flight.

“This achievement demonstrates what is possible when we are aligned with industry on a shared imperative: delivering capability to the warfighter at unprecedented speed,” Meink said in a statement. “We are driving urgency into every part of acquisition from rapid integration and flight learning to disciplined assessment, so we can turn promising technology into combat capability at the pace the threat demands.”

The mission lasted multiple hours and was a success, Shushnar said, and shows how quickly progress is being made to creating an operational CCA program.

“The U.S. Air Force’s CCA program is the fastest moving, most mature CCA program anywhere in the world, and will be the first to field operational aircraft,” Shushnar said. “Getting there demands that Anduril and the U.S. Air Force work together to prove out the capability, define the operational procedures, and build trust between operators and their semi-autonomous wingmen.”

The Air Force said data from the test will help with future software integration, developmental testing, and future CCA concepts.

The test included personnel from the Air Force’s 412th Test Wing at Edwards, the 422nd Test and Eval‎uation Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., the 309th Software Engineering Group at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, the CCA Experimental Operations Unit at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., the F-22 System Program Office, and the CCA Software Autonomy and Teaming Branch.

The Air Force has previously conducted flight tests with a “surrogate” drone meant to represent a CCA—General Atomics’ MQ-20 Avenger. In February, an F-22 in the air controlled an MQ-20 Avenger, and in May, an F-35 that remained on the ground also controlled an Avenger that was in the air.

The Air Force wants to have 500 CCAs in the field by 2032, and eventually a fleet of 1,000 or more to carry out a variety of missions that could include air-to-air strikes, air-to-ground strikes, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or electronic warfare. This first iteration—which includes General Atomics’ FQ-42 and Anduril’s FQ-44—is focused on the air-to-air mission. The Air Force wants them to cost at most $20 million apiece for the air vehicle, excluding the cost of sensors, weapons or other equipment CCAs might carry on board.

While the focus of the CCA program has been on manned-unmanned teaming with pilots in the air, the Air Force has also been working on a capability for Airmen to command the CCAs using stations on the ground.