SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / October 23, 2026 / General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the world leader in Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), today is announcing our partnership with Spirit Defense, a Boeing Company, to support airframe production of the new FQ-42 Vengeance Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). In June, GA-ASI won a contract from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to produce FQ-42. Spirit Defense's role as a fuselage design-build partner brings together the company's engineering and advanced manufacturing capabilities to support the program from design through production.

GA-ASI has been the sole manufacturer of its line of UAS - which includes MQ-9A Reaper^®, MQ-1C Gray Eagle^®, MQ-20 Avenger^®, and MQ-9B SkyGuardian^®/SeaGuardian - since the company's inception in 1992. For the FQ-42 program, partnering with Spirit Defense is a strength multiplier for the company and the nation, offering manufacturing capacity and industrial depth to scale CCA production faster, while strengthening production resilience, and reducing the risk of single points of failure.

"We're excited to be working with Spirit Defense," said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. "We've established our proven design, development, and manufacturing capability for the FQ-42. With Spirit Defense we add capacity, which is exactly the kind of production resilience our U.S. Air Force customer is looking for with its CCA ramp-up. This kind of partnership represents the scalable industrial base the Air Force and the U.S. Department of War are looking for from industry."

"We're proud to bring deep manufacturing expertise and proven capabilities to this important program," said Keith Schrader, president and CEO of Spirit Defense. "Our team understands the responsibility that comes with supporting critical national defense programs, and we're ready to deliver for our customer and the warfighter."

FQ-42 is a purpose-built, uncrewed fighter, developed with USAF as part of ongoing investment in next-generation semi-autonomous combat aircraft. The jet's modular design enables rapid integration of mission systems and mission autonomy software. GA-ASI's software architecture, demonstrated through live flight tests on multiple airframes, provides the foundation for human-machine teaming in complex combat scenarios.

Potential CCA manufacturing partnerships don't end here. Around the world, GA-ASI is in discussions with numerous international militaries interested in our Gambit Series of modular CCAs. The Gambit Series is a family of uncrewed combat jets, derived from our work on FQ-42, XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station, and MQ-20 Avenger, and optimized for roles such as electronic warfare, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD) and stand-off precision strike, making it a versatile option for evolving security needs.

Nations interested in procuring aircraft from the Gambit Series also have an opportunity to insert indigenous manufacturing into those programs, as well as integration of their own sensors, weapons and other combat technologies.

About Spirit Defense

Spirit Defense, a Boeing Company, is an independent supplier to the defense industry. Headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, the company provides engineering, design-build, manufacturing, and lifecycle support for defense programs. Leveraging more than a century of aircraft design and manufacturing experience, Spirit Defense helps customers move innovative concepts from development to production through rapid prototyping, scalable manufacturing, and proven aerospace expertise.

About GA-ASI

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., is the world's foremost builder of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS). Logging more than 9 million flight hours, the Predator^® line of UAS has flown for over 30 years and includes MQ-9A Reaper^®, MQ-1C Gray Eagle^®, MQ-20 Avenger^®, MQ-9B SkyGuardian^®/SeaGuardian^®, XQ-67A, and FQ-42 Vengeance. The company is dedicated to providing long-endurance, multi-mission solutions that deliver persistent situational awareness and rapid strike.

For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com.

Avenger, EagleEye, Gray Eagle, Lynx, Predator, Reaper, SeaGuardian, and SkyGuardian are trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., registered in the United States and/or other countries.

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Contact Information
GA-ASI Media Relations
asi-mediarelations@ga-asi.com
(858) 524-8101

SOURCE: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

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