Engineering:General Atomics FQ-42 Vengeance

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Short description: Unmanned combat aircraft under development by General Atomics
FQ-42 Vengeance
A YFQ-42A takes off at a testing range in California
General information
National originUnited States
ManufacturerGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems
Management and usageUnited States Air Force
Number builtAt least 3[3]
History
First flight27 August 2025
Developed fromGeneral Atomics XQ-67A

The General Atomics FQ-42 Vengeance is an unmanned fighter aircraft with loyal wingman capabilities, currently under development by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.[1][2] The aircraft is one of the winning designs for Increment I of the United States Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program and is intended to augment crewed fighter aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning, and the planned Boeing F-47 fighter for air-to-air missions through manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T).[4]

Development and design

General Atomics YFQ-42A in a ground test facility.

The FQ-42 is a member of General Atomics "Gambit" family of UCAVs and derived from the company's XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station demonstrator built for the Air Force Research Laboratory.[5][6] The design was selected as one of the two winners of the Increment I CCA with designation YFQ-42 alongside the Anduril's "Fury" design designated as the YFQ-44.[7]

A mockup of the design was showcased during a September 2024 Air Force conference; the aircraft's configuration is similar to the XQ-67A but modified for greater speeds and fighter-like maneuverability, with the airframe having an elongated fuselage with slender wings, a dorsal-mounted inlet, a single engine, V-tails, and internal weapons bay. Planned armament is two AIM-120 AMRAAMs.[8][9] The design is expected to provide the USAF with "affordable mass" to augment its crewed fighters in air-to-air missions. Its low cost nature, while not attritable, enables users and commanders to take greater risks with them.[10]

The aircraft received its formal designation during the 2025 Air & Space Forces Association symposium. On 27 August 2025, the United States Air Force and General Atomics announced the YFQ-42A had begun its flight testing.[11]

On 23 February 2026, in a statement from General Atomics, the YFQ-42 was named "Dark Merlin", named after a type of falcon.[4][12]

On 17 June 2026, the Air Force announced it had selected both the YFQ-42 and Anduril's YFQ-44 for an initial production contract, with a combined 150 FQ-42s and FQ-44s to be built by 2030.[13]

On 14 September 2026, the United States Air Force announced that the FQ-42 production aircraft would be named "Vengeance".[14]

Flight test mishap

On 6 April 2026 a YFQ-42A crashed during a mishap shortly after takeoff, resulting in the total loss[15] of an aircraft and causing delays in flight testing activities.[16][17] Flight testing resumed on 21 May 2026.[15]

The cause was determined to be an autopilot miscalculation of the aircraft weight & center of gravity.[15]

Variants

  • YFQ-42A: Prototype aircraft tested by the U.S. Air Force.
  • FQ-42A: Production aircraft selected for the U.S. Air Force.[18]

Operators

 United States
  • United States Air Force

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Related lists

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (23 February 2026). "GA-ASI Announces YFQ-42A Dark Merlin". https://www.ga-asi.com/ga-asi-announces-yfq-42a-dark-merlin. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rogoway, Tyler (23 February 2026). "Dark Merlin Is The Name Of General Atomics' YFQ-42A Fighter Drone". https://www.twz.com/air/dark-merlin-is-now-general-atomics-yfq-42a-fighter-drones-nickname. 
  3. ↑ "GA-ASI Achieves New Milestone With Semi-Autonomous CCA Flight". General Atomics. 12 February 2026. https://www.ga-asi.com/ga-asi-achieves-new-milestone-with-semi-autonomous-cca-flight. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rogoway, Tyler (23 February 2026). "Dark Merlin Is The Name Of General Atomics’ YFQ-42A Fighter Drone". The War Zone. https://www.twz.com/air/dark-merlin-is-now-general-atomics-yfq-42a-fighter-drones-nickname. 
  5. ↑ Decker, Audrey (23 September 2024). "Dueling robot wingmen take the stage". Defense One. https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2024/09/dueling-robot-wingmen-take-stage/399746/. 
  6. ↑ Insinna, Valerie (25 July 2024). "General Atomics could fly first CCA prototype in mid-2025: Aeronautics president". Breaking Defense. https://breakingdefense.com/2024/07/general-atomics-could-fly-first-cca-prototype-in-mid-2025-aeronautics-president/. 
  7. ↑ Tirpak, John (2024-04-25). "Anduril and General Atomics to Develop New Collaborative Combat Aircraft for Air Force" (in en-US). https://www.airandspaceforces.com/cca-contract-winners-to-be-announced-imminently/. 
  8. ↑ Insinna, Valerie (10 September 2024). "Anduril, General Atomics to showcase drone wingmen models at Air Force conference next week". Breaking Defense. https://breakingdefense.com/2024/09/anduril-general-atomics-to-showcase-drone-wingmen-models-at-air-force-conference-next-week/. 
  9. ↑ D'Urso, Stefano (17 September 2024). "Anduril And General Atomics Showcase Collaborative Combat Aircraft Mockups". The Aviationist. https://theaviationist.com/2024/09/17/anduril-and-general-atomics-showcase-collaborative-combat-aircraft-mockups/. 
  10. ↑ Finnerty, Ryan (19 September 2024). "USAF’s first autonomous combat jets will act as air-to-air ‘missile trucks’ for crewed fighters". FlightGlobal. https://www.flightglobal.com/military-uavs/usafs-first-autonomous-combat-jets-will-act-as-air-to-air-missile-trucks-for-crewed-fighters/160011.article. 
  11. ↑ "Collaborative Combat Aircraft, YFQ-42A takes to the air for flight testing". 27 August 2025. https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4287627/collaborative-combat-aircraft-yfq-42a-takes-to-the-air-for-flight-testing/. 
  12. ↑ "GA-ASI Announces YFQ-42A Dark Merlin". General Atomics. 23 February 2026. https://www.ga-asi.com/ga-asi-announces-yfq-42a-dark-merlin. 
  13. ↑ Trevithick, Joseph (17 June 2026). "USAF Orders Both General Atomics’ FQ-42 And Anduril’s FQ-44 Into Production". The Warzone. https://www.twz.com/air/usaf-orders-both-general-atomics-fq-42-and-andurils-fq-44-into-production. 
  14. ↑ Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs (14 September 2026). "SecAF announces names of new Collaborative Combat Aircraft". https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4600199/secaf-announces-names-of-new-collaborative-combat-aircraft/. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "YFQ-42A Returns to Flight Testing". General Atomics. 6 April 2026. https://www.ga-asi.com/yfq-42a-returns-to-flight-testing. 
  16. ↑ "Statement on YFQ-42A Flight Incident". General Atomics. 6 April 2026. https://www.ga-asi.com/statement-on-yfq-42a-flight-incident. 
  17. ↑ "General Atomics CCA drone wingman prototype crashes in California". 6 April 2026. https://breakingdefense.com/2026/04/general-atomics-cca-drone-wingman-prototype-crashes-in-california/. 
  18. ↑ Losey, Stephen (17 June 2026). "Air Force Selects Both General Atomics and Anduril for CCA Production". Air & Space Forces Magazine. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-general-atomics-anduril-cca-production-contracts/. 



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