On October 31, 2025, a gunmetal-colored, bullet-shaped object streaked across the skies of the California high desert under the careful watch of the US Air Force. It took off without a pilot. It flew only by the guidance of software, at the press of a single button. A group of America’s best engineers had just made aviation history.Today, we have multiple fighters flying. YFQ-44A will move into production at Arsenal-1 in the coming months. But the road to first flight was not a straight one.