General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has congratulated the US Air Force (USAF) on the pace of progress for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, which features the FQ-42 Vengeance designed and produced by GA-ASI.
The latest milestone took place 18 September, when a new FQ-42 Vengeance was delivered to Creech AFB, Nevada, to continue operations with test and evaluation units.
“The CCA program’s rate of progress has been incredible,” GA-ASI Vice President of Advanced Programs, Mike Atwood, said. “Every week, the Air Force is pushing forward with new and more impressive accomplishments using Vengeance. It’s amazing to think of how far this program has come in such a short amount of time.”
The FQ-42 that arrived at Creech will continue regular test and evaluation operations with the Air Force aimed at experimentation with the new aircraft.
Previous efforts with Vengeance and other GA-ASI jets, including XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station and MQ-20 Avenger – have found the trio of combat jets flying in various scenarios.
According to the company, GA-ASI’s jets have flown semi-autonomously and autonomously with various AI pilots and under collaborative control of human fighter pilots operating F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II jets.
FQ-42 Vengeance, a 5th-generation uncrewed fighter with an internal weapons bay and other features designed for low observability and increased survivability, has flown formation flights alongside F-35 and F-15E Strike Eagle in preparation for collaborative control operations with manned aircraft.
Those experiments will replicate company demonstrations previously flown by GA-ASI using MQ-20 as a CCA surrogate to advance CCA operations in parallel to the primary US Air Force development program.
GA-ASI was selected by USAF in April 2024 to build production-representative flight test articles for the CCA program. FQ-42 Vengeance made its maiden flight in August 2025 and was selected in June 2026 for an initial production contract.
GA-ASI has completed a new low-observable paint facility to support CCA production, and the company is currently positioned to deliver six aircraft per month to meet USAF goals, with more manufacturing space available to respond to additional orders.
Production of FQ-42 Vengeance is underway on company investment as government funding plans mature. GA-ASI plans to build multiple fighters for its own company aircraft fleet, to invest in inventing new technologies that reduce risk and increase capabilities for its global customers.
XQ-67A and FQ-42 represent two customer-delivered examples of GA-ASI’s Gambit Series of next-generation combat jets.