USAF awards GA-ASI production contract for FQ-42A Dark Merlin

The first GA-ASI YFQ-42A lifts off from a southern California airfield. A competing CCA, the Anduril YFQ-44A, is also likely to enter flight testing soon. (GA-ASI)

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) announced on 17 June that it received a production contract from the US Air Force (USAF) for the FQ-42 collaborative combat aircraft (CCA).

The order begins delivery of the aircraft to the USAF after 15 months of a fast-tracked development timeline, with GA-ASI president David R. Alexander saying that “manufacturing is already well underway”.

The company was selected by the USAF in 2024 to develop production-representative prototypes for the CCA programme. The then-named YFQ-42A's first flight was conducted in August 2025 after ground testing was completed the same year in May.

It was named “Dark Merlin” in February 2026, a nickname stemming from the eponymous bird, which the company said at the time evokes both the bird's hunting capabilities as well as Arthurian legend centring around the famous wizard.

The production contract means that the fighter moves from the YFQ-42 designation, dropping the “Y” signifying it as a prototype while keeping the “F” and “Q” that designate it as a fighter and uncrewed platform, respectively.

Shield AI will provide its Hivemind mission autonomy software to the programme, while continuing to “focus on implementing collaborative combat autonomy behaviours involving multiple autonomous aircraft operating together under human supervision, reducing operator workload and enabling coordinated operations at scale”, according to a company statement.

For more, please see: USAF designates YFQ-42A as ‘Dark Merlin'