:

Air Force

YFQ-42A Dark Merlin Resumes Flight Tests for CCA Program

Frank Wolfe

Thursday, May 21st, 2026

SHARE:

YFQ-42A Dark Merlin Resumes Flight Tests for CCA Program

Pictured is a U.S. Air Force photo of Lt. Col. Matthew "Doubled" Jensen, the commander of the Experimental Operations Unit at Nellis AFB, Nev.

The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) YFQ-42A Dark Merlin prototype drone for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program has resumed flight testing, the Air Force and the company said on Thursday. A crash and total loss of one of the YFQ-42As on April 6 caused flight testing to stop (Defense Daily, April 7). "Even while flight testing on the YFQ-42 was temporarily paused, the program was not," Air Force Col. Timothy Helfrich, portfolio acquisition executive for fighters…

Budget

Hegseth Pushes For Reconciliation With At Least $350 Billion For Defense ‘Regardless’ Of Midterms Outcome

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday the Trump administration plans to continue its push for at least $350 billion in defense funds via the reconciliation process “regardless of what happens […]

Congress

Bipartisan Push in Senate to Hasten Export of 155 mm, GMLRS, HIMARS for Ukraine

A small, bipartisan group of senators is backing the Fast Tracking European Investment in Ukraine’s Defense Act, S. 5175, to hasten the export of allied buys of U.S. munitions for […]

Congress

Rep. Himes Signals Increased Contractor Oversight, if Democrats Win House

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, plans to increase the committee’s contractor oversight if the Democrats win control of the House […]

Congress

CBO Estimates Loss of One-Half to Two-Thirds of U.S. Missile Interceptors Since June Last Year

A new Congressional Budget Office report estimates the cost of the Iran war through Aug. 1 as $38 billion and says that the U.S. has likely depleted between one-half and […]