YFQ-42A Dark Merlin

The YFQ-42A Dark Merlin is General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' entry in the US Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme, designated for production as the FQ-42A. On 17 June 2026 the Air Force awarded the first funded CCA production contracts jointly to General Atomics and Anduril (FQ-44A), selecting them over Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman in a fresh source selection that re-scored all five original competitors. The target is 150-plus autonomous combat aircraft at under $30 million each by end of decade; the FY2027 budget request carries $1.4 billion for development and $1 billion for procurement. In April 2026 a YFQ-42A prototype crashed during a mishap shortly after takeoff; flight testing resumed in May 2026, and the Air Force proceeded with the production award, signalling that the programme's strategic value outweighed the test setback.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) was established in 1992 and is most widely known for the MQ-9 Reaper, which has flown counter-terrorism and surveillance missions for the US military and allied forces since 2007. GA-ASI was selected alongside Anduril as one of two CCA downselects in April 2024 to build production-representative flight test articles. The Dark Merlin designation was announced in February 2026. GA-ASI's thirty-year track record with medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones gave it credibility in the CCA source selection that newer entrants lacked; the company operates established sustainment infrastructure across US Air Force basing networks.

The production award is significant because it transfers the fastest-growing segment of US air-power acquisition to non-traditional prime contractors, with General Atomics joining Anduril in displacing Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman from a franchise all three had expected to inherit. The FQ-42A is designed to fly autonomously alongside crewed F-35 and F-47 fighters, providing a force-multiplier capability at a unit cost roughly a third of the manned aircraft it accompanies.