The FQ-42, one of two autonomous combat aircraft the Air Force has in development alongside the FQ-44 Fury, is expected to stay based at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada for the near term. Flight testing by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), the manufacturer behind the FQ-42 Vengeance, is set to proceed at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. One FQ-42 unit has reportedly been transferred to the facility in Clark County, which functions as a central hub for worldwide unmanned aerial operations. GA-ASI has indicated that the FQ-42 will carry on with routine testing and evaluation activities at Creech AFB. Those test flights built on earlier evaluations conducted at an undisclosed location in California, where the autonomous fifth-generation aircraft flew alongside the F-35 Lightning II and the F-15E Strike Eagle; GA-ASI Vice President of Advanced Programs Mike Atwood noted that the programme had advanced at a rapid pace, with the Air Force completing new milestones aboard Vengeance on a weekly basis. Pilots based at Creech Air Force Base operate unmanned aircraft, including the MQ-9 Reaper, on missions spanning the Middle East and South Asia, with one official noting that the program had advanced considerably over a relatively brief period. Personnel at the facility operate around the clock across rotating shifts, manning dedicated terminals that rely on satellite connections and live video to remotely pilot the drones. The facility also hosts the Air Force's Experimental Operations Unit, where semi-autonomous combat drones intended to operate alongside piloted aircraft are put through their paces. Anduril, maker of the rival FQ-44 Fury drone — the other CCA platform currently deployed — has not yet disclosed which Air Force installation will serve as its home base. The Vengeance has additionally undergone flight testing alongside other GA-ASI aircraft, among them the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station, which formed the foundation for the FQ-42, and the MQ-20 Avenger; the firm noted that its jet-powered unmanned platforms have operated in semi-autonomous and fully autonomous modes with various artificial intelligence systems, as well as under the collaborative direction of human pilots flying F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II aircraft. GA-ASI received an initial low-rate production contract for the Vengeance under CCA Increment 1 in June, while the FQ-42 completed its first flight the following August. GA-ASI has begun manufacturing using its own capital, absorbing financial risk to prevent any delays in scheduled delivery. The FQ-42 belongs to GA-ASI's Gambit line of autonomous combat aircraft. The aircraft received the designation Dark Merlin during test flights — a name drawn from a species of falcon rather than any legendary sorcerer. Proposals from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman were passed over in favour of the Anduril and GA-ASI designs, which were formally designated YFQ-44A and YFQ-42A respectively following a March 2025 announcement. According to current projections, the Air Force intends to deploy 500 operational CCA autonomous aircraft by 2032, with a long-term goal of building a total fleet of 1,000 such vehicles to operate alongside piloted planes, including next-generation fighters and the forthcoming B-21 Raider strategic bomber. The FY2027 spending proposal allocates $996.5 million toward early procurement of the CCA programme, supported by approximately $1.3 billion earmarked for research and development. Both GA-ASI and Anduril received contract awards in June, roughly four months before the anticipated timeline, after their respective prototypes demonstrated compliance with the Air Force's operational requirements.
