The delivery advances a program that has moved from contractor selection to initial production in less than three years. General Atomics said it is positioned to deliver six aircraft per month and has additional manufacturing space available for further orders.
“The CCA program’s rate of progress has been incredible,” said Mike Atwood, GA-ASI Vice President of Advanced Programs. “Every week, the Air Force is pushing forward with new and more impressive accomplishments using Vengeance.”
General Atomics describes the FQ-42 as a fifth-generation uncrewed fighter with an internal weapons bay. The aircraft also incorporates low-observable features intended to improve survivability.
The FQ-42 has flown in formation with F-35 Lightning II and F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft. Those flights prepared the platform for collaborative control trials with crewed fighters.
The planned trials build on earlier General Atomics demonstrations using the MQ-20 Avenger as a CCA surrogate. The company has also operated the FQ-42 with the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station and MQ-20 in a range of test scenarios.
General Atomics aircraft have flown semi-autonomously and autonomously using different AI pilots. They have also operated under collaborative control by human pilots flying F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning IIs.
The Air Force selected General Atomics in April 2024 to build production-representative CCA flight-test aircraft. The FQ-42 completed its maiden flight in August 2025 and received an initial production contract in June 2026.
General Atomics has completed a low-observable paint facility to support FQ-42 manufacturing. Production is underway using company funds while government financing plans mature.
The company said its at-risk investment is intended to support U.S. procurement planning and avoid delivery delays. It also plans to build multiple fighters for its own fleet to test technologies and expand aircraft capabilities.
The FQ-42 and XQ-67A are customer-delivered aircraft from the company’s modular Gambit Series. The design allows new systems, weapons and autonomy software to be integrated without extensive platform redesign.
General Atomics began building and flying uncrewed jets with the company-funded MQ-20 Avenger in 2008. The XQ-67A, developed with the Air Force Research Laboratory, later served as a flying prototype for the FQ-42 program.
