YFQ-42A Dark Merlin

production FQ-42A

A jet drone wingman for US Air Force fighters. It can take off and land at the push of a button, and in February 2026 it flew a four-hour mission on Collins Aerospace autonomy software, carrying out commands from a ground autonomy operator.

Price: —military only
Autonomy: SupervisedHow it runs
Driverless: TestingSince 2025-08
Fleet: 42Reported; details below
Speed: —Not published
Range: —Not published

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Why it matters

First US Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft to fly, in August 2025.

Real-world use

General Atomics and Anduril received CCA production contracts on 17 June 2026. A YFQ-42A was lost in an April 6 crash; flight testing resumed by May 21 after safety reviews and software changes (DefenseScoop; General Atomics, 2026).

Timeline

First shown: 2025-08-27
Released: Not yet

US Air Force announcement of first flight

Maker

General Atomics Aeronautical SystemsCompany

How it drives

Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.

Driverless status: Driverless tests only
Where it runs: US flight test ranges, California
Driverless since: 2025-08
Fleet: At least three production-representative YFQ-42A airframes built by April 2026 (AeroTime, 2026).

Public attention

How much public attention YFQ-42A Dark Merlin (production FQ-42A) gets, from open data.

No Wikipedia article of its own yet
No recent press stories listed yet

Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured

What’s inside

No component details published yet.

Movement: Other movement
How it runs: Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.

From the maker

YFQ-42A Dark Merlin (production FQ-42A) is the only vehicle from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in the atlas.

Made, sold and where

No production or sales figures published yet.

Price: Not publishedmilitary only
How to get one: No official buying page found

Sources

Figures come from the maker. Every link below backs something on this page.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems GA-ASI announces YFQ-42A Dark Merlin General Atomics Aeronautical Systems GA-ASI achieves new milestone with semi-autonomous CCA flight The War Zone USAF orders both General Atomics' FQ-42 and Anduril's FQ-44 into production General Atomics Aeronautical Systems U.S Air Force Awards GA-ASI Production Contract for FQ-42A CCA

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