General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has selected Spirit Defense to design and manufacture the fuselage of the FQ-42 Vengeance, bringing a Boeing-owned company into the industrial team behind one of the U.S. Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
The agreement does not mean Boeing will develop the FQ-42 alongside General Atomics. Spirit Defense operates as an independent supplier to the defense industry and traces its origins to the military business of Spirit AeroSystems, the major aerostructures manufacturer acquired by Boeing in December 2025.
General Atomics said Spirit Defense will serve as the design-build partner for the FQ-42 fuselage. The work covers engineering and manufacturing and is intended to provide additional production capacity as the unmanned aircraft moves toward larger-scale production.
The arrangement also reduces General Atomics’ dependence on its own factories. The company has traditionally manufactured its unmanned aircraft internally, including members of the Predator and Reaper families.
Partnership predates Boeing acquisition
Spirit’s involvement with General Atomics began in 2022, years before Boeing completed its acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems. Boeing therefore inherited the relationship rather than initiating a new partnership with General Atomics for the FQ-42.
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Spirit Defense has prepared approximately 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Wichita, Kansas, for the program. General Atomics said 483 days elapsed between the start of design work at the facility and the aircraft’s first flight.
The corporate arrangement explains the apparently unusual presence of a Boeing company in a General Atomics aircraft program. Spirit Defense retains a role as a supplier to other defense manufacturers despite being owned by Boeing.
That structure derives from Spirit AeroSystems’ history as a supplier of aerostructures to several manufacturers. Its commercial operations are best known for producing major aircraft structures, including Boeing fuselages and components for other commercial aircraft programs.
FQ-42 is one of first U.S. Air Force CCAs
The FQ-42 Vengeance is General Atomics’ aircraft for the first increment of the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. It is being developed alongside Anduril Industries’ FQ-44 Fury.
Both are autonomous combat aircraft intended to operate with crewed fighters, including the F-35 and future F-47. Missions under consideration for CCAs include sensing, electronic warfare and carrying weapons, with human pilots able to direct multiple unmanned aircraft during combat operations.
The Air Force plans to acquire at least 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft by 2032, creating a production requirement considerably larger than most recent U.S. military aircraft programs.
General Atomics unveiled the Vengeance name for the FQ-42 earlier this year. The aircraft evolved from the company’s XQ-67A demonstrator and has already entered flight testing as the Air Force evaluates the first generation of operational CCAs.
