Anduril’s Fury already flew formation with F-35s.

A private firm, not the Air Force, writes the autonomy stack deciding what the aircraft does.

The drone flew under its own Mission Autonomy, taking no commands yet from the F-35 cockpit.

Direct “quarterback” tasking from the F-35 begins live flight tests within months, Anduril says.

How each outlet framed it
The War Zone
details confirmed F-35/autonomous fighter formation flights during July 2026 exercise, advancing manned-unmanned teaming reality

Sources: The War Zone