A General Atomics YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft prototype crashed shortly after takeoff during a test flight in the California desert on April 6, 2026. The incident occurred at approximately 1 p.m. Pacific time at the company-owned Gray Butte Airport near Palmdale.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems confirmed no one was injured. The company has paused all YFQ-42A flight test operations temporarily while investigating the cause. Safety procedures functioned as intended, according to company spokesman C. Mark Brinkley.
The YFQ-42A, known internally as Dark Merlin, is one of several production-representative prototypes in the US Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. This marks the program’s first known flight mishap. The aircraft competes with Anduril’s YFQ-44A for Increment 1, aimed at building a fleet of over 1,000 autonomous wingmen to support crewed fighters like the F-35. General Atomics achieved the YFQ-42A’s first flight in August 2025 and began testing with AI-powered mission software in February 2026. The Air Force plans a production decision by the end of fiscal 2026.