The YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, designed and developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), is now conducting flight testing in coordination with the U.S. Air Force. This historic achievement continues the company’s rapid creation of new, jet-powered uncrewed platforms chartered by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to achieve air dominance while being designed for rapid production, in large quantities, at an affordable price.“What a great moment for the U.S. Air Force and for GA-ASI,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “It’s been our collaboration that enabled us to build and fly the YFQ-42A in just over a year. It’s an incredible achievement and I salute the Air Force for its vision and I salute our development team for delivering yet another historic first for our company.”The YFQ-42A is GA-ASI’s newest uncrewed jet, focused on air-to-air semi-autonomous operation and based on the genus-species concept pioneered on the <a href="https://www.ga-asi.com/ga-asi-makes-first-flight-of-xq-67a-obss">XQ-67A</a> Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS). Using state-of-the-art, model-based digital engineering, GA-ASI was able to accelerate its schedule while optimizing air dominance capabilities. YFQ-42’s autonomy core has been trained across more than five years of flight testing using GA-ASI’s jet-powered MQ-20 Avenger®, an aircraft no other company has. The integrated capabilities of a stealthy, air-to-air-focused uncrewed jet, combined with a learned AI autonomy core, provide warfighters with a definitive advantage in the future fight.The GA-ASI program has focused on creating a high-rate production environment that enables USAF to reach its goal of producing more than 1,000 CCAs on an accelerated timeline. <a href="https://www.ga-asi.com/ga-asi-moves-into-ground-testing-of-new-yfq-42a-cca">Ground testing</a> for YFQ-42A began in May.USAF selected GA-ASI in April 2024 to build and fly a fully production-representative Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). In March, USAF designated the aircraft the YFQ-42A, with the "Y" indicating a production-representative aircraft (“Y” will be dropped upon entering production), "F" signifying a fighter aircraft, and "Q" denoting an uncrewed aircraft.GA-ASI has developed more than two dozen different types of uncrewed aircraft and delivered more than 1,200 units to customers, building more than 100 aircraft per year at its 5 million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Poway, Calif. GA-ASI aircraft have amassed nearly 9 million total flight hours; more than 50 GA-ASI aircraft are aloft around the world every minute of every day.

large_SEP25 GA-ASI CCA Flight 1080x1080.jpg

medium_SEP25 GA-ASI CCA Flight 1080x1080.jpg

small_SEP25 GA-ASI CCA Flight 1080x1080.jpg

thumbnail_SEP25 GA-ASI CCA Flight 1080x1080.jpg

SEP25 GA-ASI CCA Flight 1080x1080.jpg

The YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, designed and developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), is now conducting flight testing in coordination with the U.S. Air Force. This historic achievement continues the company’s rapid creation of new, jet-powered uncrewed platforms chartered by the U.S. Air Force.

GA-ASI Marks Another Aviation First With YFQ-42A CCA Flight Testing

Related Stories

AIR Expands eVTOL Flight Operations in Florida Following FAA Airworthiness Certificate Issuance

Ascent AeroSystems Unveils SPARTAN™

DOD Establishes Joint Interagency Task Force to Deliver Affordable C-sUAS Capabilities to America's Warfighters

Senator Hoeven Outlines Project ULTRA's Potential for Expanding UAS, Counter-UAS Capabilities to General Bussiere

NASA Showcases Drone Safety Testing with ResilienX in Syracuse

Upcoming Events

UAS Summit & Expo

GA-ASI Marks Another Aviation First With YFQ-42A CCA Flight Testing.css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}