General Atomics

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) won one of two funded production contracts for the US Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme on 17 June 2026, securing rights to build the FQ-42A, an autonomous fighter-class drone designed to fly alongside crewed aircraft such as the F-35 and F-15EX. The Air Force aims to buy more than 1,000 CCAs at under $30 million each; the FY2027 budget request carries $1.4 billion for development and $1 billion for procurement. The YFQ-42A prototype flew for the first time in August 2025, moving from contract to maiden flight in roughly 15 months.

General Atomics was founded in 1955 in San Diego as a civilian nuclear-research division of General Dynamics, and acquired by the Blue family in 1986. Its aeronautical subsidiary, GA-ASI, was spun off in 1992 to pursue unmanned systems; the GNAT programme evolved into the RQ-1 Predator and then the MQ-9 Reaper, now the primary USAF strike and surveillance drone. The company is still privately held, controlled by brothers Neal and Linden Blue, and employs more than 12,500 people worldwide. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

As one of only two CCA production awardees alongside Anduril, General Atomics now occupies a pivotal position in the US Air Force's shift toward affordable, attritable autonomous combat aircraft. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman all competed and were passed over, marking a structural break from the traditional prime-contractor model. The FQ designation, F for fighter and Q for unmanned, is itself historic: these are the first uncrewed aircraft in US history to carry that designation and the first purpose-built autonomous fighters to enter production.