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The U.S. Air Force has designated General Atomics’ CCA as the FQ-42 Vengeance and Anduril’s aircraft as the FQ-44 Fury. The service plans to field at least 500 semi-autonomous combat aircraft by 2032, with an FQ-44 production mock-up displayed at AFA Air, Space & Cyber.
General Atomics
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The U.S. Air Force has designated General Atomics’ CCA as the FQ-42 Vengeance and Anduril’s aircraft as the FQ-44 Fury. The service plans to field at least 500 semi-autonomous combat aircraft by 2032, with an FQ-44 production mock-up displayed at AFA Air, Space & Cyber.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is positioning its Wildfire unmanned aircraft for the program to replace the MQ-9 Reaper, linking the company’s next-generation drone offering to a major U.S. military aircraft procurement effort.
The Italian Air Force has ordered two additional MQ-9A Block 5 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. Deliveries are expected from the end of 2027, expanding Italy’s fleet for Mediterranean intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and support of NATO operations.
Saab says potential customers are interested in pairing General Atomics’ LoyalEye surveillance system, mounted on the MQ-9B SkyGuardian, with its piloted GlobalEye airborne early-warning aircraft. The concept would combine uncrewed and manned surveillance capabilities in a single operational package.
Fujitsu and General Atomics will examine maintenance, repair and overhaul opportunities for uncrewed aircraft as Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force prepares to begin operating the MQ-9B in 2027. The initiative could establish local sustainment capabilities for the platform before its entry into Japanese service.
Saab says customers are showing emerging interest in combining its business-jet-based GlobalEye airborne early-warning platform with General Atomics’ LoyalEye system, fitted to the MQ-9B SkyGuardian uncrewed aircraft. The proposed pairing would bring manned and uncrewed AEW capabilities into a single offering.
An exercise involving Anduril’s YFQ-44A and General Atomics’ YFQ-42A is helping the U.S. Air Force determine how small teams will control, maintain and rapidly return its future uncrewed fighters to service. The effort highlights the operational challenges beyond procuring hundreds of relatively inexpensive autonomous combat aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force plans to field a more affordable, mass-producible successor to the MQ-9 Reaper by 2031 while developing a broader family of aerial targets. The systems would range from expendable quadcopters to reusable drones capable of mimicking fifth-generation fighters and UAV swarms.
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