UAV
FQ-42
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) · United States
The FQ-42 is General Atomics' Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) prototype, which the US Air Force has cleared for production. GA-ASI received the first CCA production contract alongside Anduril, with the service planning to acquire at least 500 of the AI-piloted combat drones to eventually succeed its MQ-9 fleet.
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Airframe / lift type | Fixed-wing |
| Control / autonomy level | Semi-autonomous (human-on-the-loop), Swarm / cooperative |
| Domain | Aerial (UAV/UAS) |
| Mission / use case – military | Armed UCAV, ISR |
| Origin / supply chain | Military-grade |
| Propulsion | Turbine / jet |
| Signature / detectability | RCS – large, RF-emitting |
| Speed regime | High-speed / jet (>400 km/h) |
| Strike depth / operational role | Recon-strike complex (ISR + strike paired, e.g. Mavic + FPV, Orlan + Lancet) |
| Weight / class | Class III – Strike / Combat (>600 kg), FAA >25 kg (Part 137 / waiver) |
| Confidence | low |
In the news 5
Hegseth Unveils New Autonomous Warfare Command in ‘State of the Force’ AddressFleet Of At Least 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft By 2032 Now In USAF’s PlansU.S. Air Force live-fire test of Anduril YFQ-44A CCA advances semi-autonomous fighter drone program with AIM-120 launchU.S. Air Force Taps Two Vendors to Build AI-Piloted Combat DronesUS Air Force awards first CCA production contracts to General Atomics, Anduril
From uav360.xyz, the xSonomy news feed. Headlines link to the original publisher.
Review-stage catalogue data — specs corroborated from manufacturer and secondary sources; not for procurement decisions.