NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.— Anduril's robot wingman has been slow getting off the ground because the company is aiming for a semi-autonomous first flight, company officials said Monday.

The Air Force had anticipated that Anduril would fly its prototype collaborative combat aircraft, dubbed YFQ-44 Fury, this summer, but only rival General Atomics’ rival YFQ-42A actually took off .

“The goal for Anduril is always to make this an actual semi-autonomous CCA; that’s been the emphasis since day one,” company vice president Diem Salmon told reporters at the Air & Space Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber conference near Washington, D.C. “The goal is to also get to a semi-autonomous first flight, which means takeoff and landing will be done via push of a button.”

Salmon described that decis

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