American jet-powered collaborative combat aircraft developed by General Atomics, selected by the U.S. Air Force to fly air-to-air missions alongside crewed fighters under the CCA program.
The General Atomics FQ-42 Vengeance is an American unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems as one of the two winning designs of Increment I of the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, alongside the Anduril FQ-44 Fury. It is intended to augment crewed fighters such as the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II and the planned Boeing F-47 in air-to-air missions through manned-unmanned teaming, giving the Air Force "affordable mass": an aircraft cheap enough that commanders can accept greater risk with it, without being considered expendable.
The FQ-42 belongs to General Atomics' "Gambit" family of UCAVs and derives from the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station demonstrator built for the Air Force Research Laboratory, modified for higher speed and fighter-like maneuverability. The airframe features an elongated fuselage with slender wings, a dorsal-mounted air intake, a single engine, V-tails and an internal weapons bay, with a planned armament of two AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles.
Designated YFQ-42A in 2025 - part of the first "fighter drone" designation series in U.S. Air Force history - the prototype began flight testing on 27 August 2025. A YFQ-42A was lost in a crash shortly after takeoff on 6 April 2026, traced to an autopilot miscalculation of the aircraft's weight and center of gravity; testing resumed on 21 May 2026. The aircraft was first named "Dark Merlin", after a type of falcon, in February 2026, and in June 2026 the Air Force selected both CCA designs for initial production, with a combined 150 FQ-42s and FQ-44s planned by 2030.
On 14 September 2026 the Secretary of the Air Force announced Vengeance as the FQ-42's official popular name, alongside Fury for the FQ-44; with both types in production, the "Y" prefix was dropped from their designations. The Air Force set a target of at least 500 semi-autonomous CCAs in service by 2032, at a unit price of under $30 million. General Atomics delivered an FQ-42 to Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, on 18 September 2026, and says it is on track to deliver six aircraft a month.
General Atomics delivered one FQ-42 Vengeance uncrewed fighter to Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, on September 18, as the company says it is on track to build six a month and the Secretary of the Air Force expects at least 500 autonomous aircraft in service by 2032.
The Secretary of the Air Force announced on 14 September 2026 that General Atomics' FQ-42 is named Vengeance and Anduril Industries' FQ-44 is named Fury, as both uncrewed aircraft move into production toward a target of at least 500 in service by 2032.
