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General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

PrivateFounded 1993🇺🇸Poway, CaliforniaCEO Linden Blue

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General Atomics Aeronautical Systems built the armed drone as a category. The Predator it flew over the Balkans in 1995 and the MQ-9 Reaper that followed defined two decades of American air power, and the Predator line has now logged more than nine million flight hours.

Latest update Sep 27, 2026

01

Overview

In 2026 the company converted that incumbency into the next generation: on June 17 the Air Force awarded GA-ASI a production contract for the FQ-42A, one of the first aircraft in history to carry the FQ designation, F for fighter and Q for uncrewed, alongside Anduril's FQ-44A. On September 14, 2026 Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink formally named the jet FQ-42A Vengeance, dropping the company name Dark Merlin, and raised the service's CCA target to at least 500 aircraft in service by 2032 from the prior goal of over 150 by the end of the decade, against an eventual program goal of roughly 1,000 aircraft and a unit-cost target near one-third of an F-35. GA-ASI got there fast and not smoothly: the YFQ-42A prototype flew 15 months after contract award in August 2025, was destroyed on April 6, 2026 when an autopilot miscalculated the aircraft's weight and center of gravity after takeoff, and was flying again on May 21 after a joint safety review and a software fix. By July 2026 the main production facility had been converted to build six CCAs a month. The rest of the business is the export franchise: MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian are under contract with Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, India, Japan, Poland, Taiwan, the UK and US SOCOM, with roughly $12 billion of signed deals, and India alone ordered 31 aircraft in October 2024. The MQ-9A Reaper line is still selling: Italy ordered two more Block 5 aircraft on September 8, 2026, for delivery at the end of 2027. A new front opened in August 2026 when GA-ASI unveiled Wildfire, a clean-sheet MQ-9 successor pitched at the Pentagon's Massed Modular Aircraft competition; after Iran combat losses reached about 45 Reapers, Meink on September 14 set MMA inventory goals of 100 aircraft in 2029 and 500 by 2032 at about $10 million a copy, replacing the earlier public figures of at least 180 aircraft and 20 mission-ready tails by fiscal 2031. On September 15 GA-ASI disclosed a July 21 large-force-exercise test that paired a CCA test aircraft with a Tactical Air Support F-5 Advanced Tiger on Infrared Search and Track Multi-Ship Ranging, using TacACE software over a beyond-line-of-sight link. The strategic exposure is one layer up the stack: the Air Force competes CCA mission autonomy separately from the airframe, and while General Atomics holds one of six baseline six-year autonomy contracts, the three companies funded for the first competitive phase are Anduril, RTX Collins Aerospace and Shield AI. Collins' Sidekick software, not GA-ASI's own, is what has been flying the YFQ-42A.

ga-asi.comUpdated Sep 21, 2026

02

What's next9

All milestones

  1. Nov 2026

    Complete Mojave STOL critical design review and first flight

    TargetNovember 2026 (CDR); 2027 (first flight)

    After the September 16, 2026 Pocheon battlefield short-field demonstration with Hanwha Aerospace, GA-ASI said a production-representative Mojave STOL is due for critical design review in November 2026, with first flight in 2027, under the 2025 co-development and co-production pact aimed at the ROK Ministry of National Defense, the US Department of War, and other customers.

    ga-asi.com

  2. End of 2026

    Clear the Massed Modular Aircraft down-select with Wildfire

    The Defense Innovation Unit-led Massed Modular Aircraft competition, which Wildfire entered on August 20, 2026, drew what Air Force officials described as a very robust industry response from both traditional primes and newer entrants, including Swarm Aero's Gamera unveil on September 14. Air Force officials still plan to select MMA vendors by the end of 2026, the gate that decides whether Wildfire becomes GA-ASI's actual MQ-9 successor program rather than a design unveiling. After combat losses in operations against Iran reached at least 45 Reapers, Secretary Troy Meink on September 14, 2026 set inventory goals of 100 MMA aircraft in 2029 and 500 by 2032 at about $10 million a copy, replacing the earlier public figures of at least 180 aircraft and 20 mission-ready tails by fiscal 2031.

    aviationweek.com

  3. Spring 2027

    Open the Dayton innovation hub

    GA-ASI said on September 14, 2026 it will open a 22,000-square-foot hardware, software, and autonomy hub in Dayton, Ohio, in spring 2027 near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, with a mission operations center and about 50 jobs at the start. The addition expands the company's local footprint more than sevenfold from the 2014 Dayton-area site. JobsOhio said assistance will be made public after a final agreement is executed.

    ga-asi.com

  4. 2027

    Convert the Navy carrier CCA design study into a program

    GA-ASI has been designing a carrier-capable Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Navy since October 2025, with the modular Gambit 5 as its basis. Carrier qualification is the hardest environment in uncrewed aviation and the Navy has not yet committed to a production program.

    ga-asi.com

  5. Summer 2027

    See which mission autonomy wins the CCA down-select

    The Air Force runs two six-month competitive phases, funded for Anduril, RTX Collins Aerospace and Shield AI, before naming a primary mission-autonomy provider for CCA Increment 1 by summer 2027. General Atomics holds one of the six baseline autonomy contracts but is not in the funded phase, and Collins' Sidekick software is what has flown the YFQ-42A, so the down-select decides who owns the most valuable layer of GA-ASI's flagship program. A July 21, 2026 large-force exercise showed a CCA test aircraft and a manned F-5 sharing TacACE software and IRST Multi-Ship Ranging over a beyond-line-of-sight link, which GA-ASI presented as evidence that AMS-GRA-compliant sensors from different companies can interoperate.

    ga-asi.com

03

Latest news7

All news

  1. GA-ASI Mojave lands and relaunches from a Korean tank trail

    General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Hanwha Aerospace said on September 16 that a Mojave STOL uncrewed aircraft completed what they call the first simulated-battlefield short-field operations by a medium-altitude, long-endurance drone. Pilots flying from ground stations launched from the Republic of Korea Army 513th Aviation Battalion runway in Pocheon, landed on a rough tank-and-artillery maneuver trail at Seungjin Training Field with dual weapon rails and inert payloads, took off again, and returned to the battalion. GA-ASI said a production-representative Mojave STOL is due for critical design review in November 2026, with first flight in 2027, after the 2025 Hanwha co-development and co-production pact.

    GA-ASI The Aviationist

  2. GA-ASI to open Dayton innovation hub in spring 2027

    General Atomics Aeronautical Systems said on September 14 it will open a 22,000-square-foot innovation hub in Dayton, Ohio, in spring 2027 near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The site will focus on hardware, software, and autonomy for U.S. Air Force programs, add a mission operations center for remote flight control, and expand GA-ASI's local footprint more than sevenfold, with about 50 jobs at the start.

    GA-ASI

  3. Air Force names Fury and Vengeance CCA jets

    Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink formally named the service's first Collaborative Combat Aircraft on September 14: General Atomics' FQ-42A Vengeance and Anduril's FQ-44A Fury. Speaking at the AFA Air, Space and Cyber Conference, he said the Air Force intends to have at least 500 CCAs in service by 2032, up from the prior goal of more than 150 by the end of the decade. Both Increment 1 jets are already in production after first flights in August and October 2025.

    Stars and Stripes DefenseScoop + Anduril Industries

  4. Air Force speeds up MQ-9 Reaper replacement after Iran losses

    The Air Force is accelerating its Massed Modular Aircraft program to field an MQ-9 Reaper successor after combat losses in operations against Iran reached at least 45 aircraft, roughly a quarter of the fleet, DefenseScoop and other outlets reported September 4, 2026. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink directed the acceleration, officials are targeting a unit cost near $10 million versus $30-50 million for the MQ-9A, and the fiscal 2031 goal of 20 mission-ready successor aircraft could be pulled forward by about two years. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the Reaper's maker, entered its own Wildfire design into the same Massed Modular Aircraft competition in August.

    DefenseScoop The War Zone

  5. GA-ASI and Fujitsu to build MQ-9B support base in Japan

    General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Fujitsu signed a memorandum of understanding on August 26 to examine establishing domestic maintenance and operational support in Japan for the MQ-9B unmanned aircraft, covering avionics maintenance, parts management and maintenance training. The companies also plan to explore further technical collaboration on mission systems and systems integration, extending GA-ASI's support footprint in the Indo-Pacific as Japan builds out its MQ-9B fleet.

    sUAS News MRO Business Today

04

Products5

05

Key metrics

Employees
~5,000 at GA-ASI

(third-party estimates; the company does not disclose headcount). Parent General Atomics lists 13,000 employees.

Est. annual revenue

Roughly $2.4B to $2.5B a year by third-party estimates. GA-ASI is a wholly owned subsidiary of privately held General Atomics and publishes no financials; parent General Atomics still shows about $3.2 billion of revenue on the Forbes private-company profile last updated February 10, 2026, with 13,000 employees.

CCA Production Rate

Main production facility converted to 6 CCAs per month (company statement, July 2026)

CCA Increment 1 Target
At least 500 CCAs in service by 2032

(Meink, Sept 14, 2026), up from over 150 by the end of the decade; Increment 1 production with Anduril already underway; program goal near 1,000 aircraft

Predator-Series Flight Hours
9 million+ across the Predator line
MQ-9B Customers

Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, India, Japan, Poland, Taiwan, the UK and US SOCOM, against roughly $12B of signed deals

Largest Export Order

31 MQ-9B aircraft for India, signed October 2024, roughly $3.3B; first deliveries no earlier than January 2029

CCA Autonomy Position

Holds one of six baseline six-year mission-autonomy contracts but is not among the three funded for the first competitive phase (Anduril, RTX Collins Aerospace, Shield AI); Collins' Sidekick software flies the YFQ-42A, and a primary provider is chosen by summer 2027

Latest MQ-9A Order

Italy: two MQ-9A Block 5 Reapers plus ground control stations, ordered Sept 8, 2026, deliveries end of 2027

06

Operations & revenue

Operating status

Operational

Producing MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian for ten national customers, sustaining the MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1C Gray Eagle fleets, and now standing up Collaborative Combat Aircraft production: the FQ-42A Vengeance entered production in June 2026 and the main facility was converted to six CCAs a month by July, with a high-rate low-observable coating facility completed. Flight test of the YFQ-42A resumed May 21, 2026 after an April 6 autopilot mishap destroyed a test article. On July 21 a CCA test aircraft and a Tactical Air Support F-5 Advanced Tiger closed a kill chain with Infrared Search and Track Multi-Ship Ranging over a beyond-line-of-sight link. The MQ-9A Reaper line is still selling: Italy ordered two more Block 5 aircraft on September 8, 2026, for delivery at the end of 2027. A second growth line is Wildfire, the clean-sheet MQ-9 successor GA-ASI pitched in August 2026 for the Pentagon's Massed Modular Aircraft competition, which the Air Force accelerated in early September after about 45 Reaper combat losses. Development work also spans the Gambit family, a Navy carrier-based CCA design study awarded in October 2025, the X-68A LongShot air-launched drone, and the Mojave STOL aircraft, which on September 16, 2026 completed what GA-ASI calls the first MALE battlefield short-field landing and relaunch, at a Republic of Korea Army live-fire range with Hanwha Aerospace. On September 14, 2026 GA-ASI said it will open a 22,000-square-foot Dayton innovation hub in spring 2027 near Wright-Patterson for USAF hardware, software, and autonomy work. GA-ASI supplies the airframe and the production capacity; the autonomy software layer on CCA is competed separately, where it holds a baseline contract but is not among the three vendors funded for the current competitive phase.

Revenue streams

  • US military aircraft production and sustainment

    The legacy base: MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1C Gray Eagle production, upgrades and sustainment for the Air Force and Army, including the April 2026 Gray Eagle ELINT upgrade contract with Sierra Nevada Corporation and Italy's September 8, 2026 order for two more MQ-9A Block 5 Reapers, due at the end of 2027.

  • International MQ-9B sales

    Foreign military and direct commercial sales of MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian across ten customers, roughly $12 billion of signed deals, plus the weapons-integration work that keeps them competitive: Paveway IV and Brimstone 3 on the UK Protector, Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile integration, and an MBDA collaboration on European missiles.

  • Collaborative Combat Aircraft production

    The growth line: the FQ-42A production contract awarded June 17, 2026 as one of two CCA primes, with Increment 1 targeting at least 150 aircraft by the end of the decade and further production lots to be awarded.

  • Services, training and mission systems

    Company-operated flight test and training, including a decade of operations at its North Dakota Flight Test and Training Center, plus radars and mission systems sold alongside the aircraft.

07

Timeline21

  1. 2026

    1. FQ-42 Vengeance test article delivered to Creech AFB

      GA-ASI said a new FQ-42 Vengeance arrived at Creech AFB, Nevada, on 18 September 2026 for test and evaluation with Air Force units. The company said FQ-42 production is underway on company investment as government funding plans mature, and that it is positioned to deliver six aircraft per month. This is a test-article delivery, not the start of the June production contract.

    2. CCA and manned F-5 close a kill chain with IRST Multi-Ship Ranging

      On September 15, 2026 GA-ASI said that on July 21, during a large force exercise, a CCA test aircraft and a Tactical Air Support F-5 Advanced Tiger used Infrared Search and Track Multi-Ship Ranging to find, track, and engage an airborne target. Both aircraft flew GA-ASI TacACE software based on the Autonomy Government Reference Architecture Agile Mission Suite, and coordinated over a beyond-line-of-sight data link. GA-ASI framed the test as proof that AMS-GRA-compliant sensors from different companies can interoperate, and as evidence the CCA is ready for production.

    3. Italy orders two more MQ-9A Block 5 Reapers

      On September 8, 2026 the Italian Air Force ordered two new MQ-9A Block 5 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft from GA-ASI, plus ground control stations, as a Foreign Military Sale through the US Air Force. Deliveries are due at the end of 2027. Italy has flown MQ-9A for more than 20 years on ISR missions over Italy, the Mediterranean, and in NATO operations. MQ-9A Block 5 endurance is up to 26 hours and payload is 4,600 pounds, including 3,750 pounds of external stores.

    4. Mojave STOL completes battlefield short-field ops in South Korea

      On September 16, 2026 GA-ASI and Hanwha Aerospace completed what they call the first simulated-battlefield short-field operations by a medium-altitude, long-endurance uncrewed aircraft. A Mojave STOL took off from the Republic of Korea Army 513th Aviation Battalion runway in Pocheon, landed on a rough tank-and-artillery maneuver trail at Seungjin Training Field with dual weapon rails and inert payloads, took off again, and returned to the battalion. GA-ASI said a production-representative Mojave STOL is due for critical design review in November 2026, with first flight in 2027.

    5. Announces Dayton innovation hub near Wright-Patterson

      On September 14, 2026 GA-ASI said it will open a 22,000-square-foot innovation hub in Dayton, Ohio, in spring 2027 near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, expanding its local footprint more than sevenfold. The site will focus on hardware, software, and autonomy for U.S. Air Force programs, add a mission operations center for remote flight control, and start with about 50 jobs. It is in addition to GA-ASI's existing Dayton-area location opened in 2014.

    6. Air Force names FQ-42A Vengeance and raises CCA target to 500 by 2032

      On September 14, 2026 at the Air and Space Forces Association conference, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink formally named GA-ASI's Collaborative Combat Aircraft the FQ-42A Vengeance, replacing the company name Dark Merlin, and said the service intends to have at least 500 CCAs in service by 2032. Increment 1 production with Anduril is already underway. The same speech set Massed Modular Aircraft inventory goals of 100 aircraft in 2029 and 500 by 2032, the program Wildfire is pitched into.

    7. Tom Burke joins as UK international-strategy vice president

      On August 27, 2026 GA-ASI named Tom Burke, a retired Royal Air Force Air Vice-Marshal, vice president of International Strategic Development for the United Kingdom. The hire deepens the company's UK bench as the RAF's Protector RG Mk1 (MQ-9B) weapons qualification and Paveway IV / Brimstone 3 work continue, and as European CCA interest grows around the Gambit family.

    8. Signs Japan support MOU with Fujitsu ahead of MQ-9B deployment

      On August 27, 2026 GA-ASI and Fujitsu sign a memorandum of understanding to examine a framework under which Fujitsu would provide domestic maintenance and operational support for MQ-9B in Japan, covering avionics maintenance, parts management, maintenance training and supply-chain services. Japan's Ministry of Defense plans to field 23 MQ-9B aircraft with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force starting in fiscal year 2027, and the MOU is the first step toward building the in-country support base that deployment needs.

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