{"id":29379782,"date":"2026-10-24T16:29:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T14:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fq-42-vengeance-spirit-defense-boeing-fuselage-wichita-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T16:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T14:30:17","slug":"fq-42-vengeance-spirit-defense-boeing-fuselage-wichita-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/fq-42-vengeance-spirit-defense-boeing-fuselage-wichita-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"FQ-42 Vengeance: Boeing&rsquo;s Spirit Defense Joins Drone Production"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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On Friday the company broke that habit for its most important new aircraft. The fuselage of the FQ-42 Vengeance, the US Air Force&rsquo;s new uncrewed fighter, will now also come out of a Boeing-owned factory in Wichita, Kansas.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) announced on 23 October 2026 that Spirit Defense, a Boeing company, is its fuselage design-build partner for the FQ-42. The same morning, Spirit Defense opened a new production hall in south Wichita to do the work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The reason is simple arithmetic. The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/united-states-air-force\/\">US Air Force<\/a> wants hundreds of these jets in a few years, and one factory is a single point of failure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> General Atomics FQ-42A Vengeance uncrewed combat aircraft<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>New partner:<\/strong> Spirit Defense, a Boeing company, as fuselage design-build partner<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Announced:<\/strong> 23 October 2026<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Where:<\/strong> New 50,000 sq ft production hall in south Wichita, Kansas<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Programme:<\/strong> US Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), Increment 1<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Air Force goal:<\/strong> At least 500 CCAs in inventory by 2032<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Partnership began:<\/strong> 2022, according to GA-ASI<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What GA-ASI and Spirit Defense announced<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>In its release, GA-ASI said Spirit Defense will support FQ-42 airframe production &ldquo;from design through production&rdquo;, adding manufacturing capacity and industrial depth to scale Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) output faster. GA-ASI won its Air Force production contract for the FQ-42 in June.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The company stressed that it has been the sole manufacturer of its own line of uncrewed aircraft, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mq-9-reaper\/\">MQ-9 Reaper<\/a>, MQ-1C Gray Eagle and MQ-20 Avenger, since it was founded in 1992. Bringing in an outside airframe partner for the FQ-42 is a deliberate break with that model.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve established our proven design, development, and manufacturing capability for the FQ-42. With Spirit Defense we add capacity, which is exactly the kind of production resilience our U.S. Air Force customer is looking for with its CCA ramp-up.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>David R. Alexander<\/strong> &mdash; President, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, 23 October 2026<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Spirit Defense is the defence arm of the former Spirit AeroSystems, now part of Boeing, and describes itself as an independent supplier to the defence industry. It is headquartered in Wichita, a city that has been building aircraft for more than a century.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A 50,000-square-foot hall in south Wichita<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>According to local station KWCH, the new facility covers 50,000 square feet and was converted from a former tooling and factory support building. Spirit Defense president and CEO Keith Schrader told reporters the empty floor would be &ldquo;full with production&rdquo; within a couple of months.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/spirit-defense-fq-42-vengeance-wichita-facility-opening.jpg\" alt=\"Spirit Defense and General Atomics FQ-42 Vengeance banner inside the new Spirit Defense production hall in Wichita\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An FQ-42 Vengeance banner inside Spirit Defense&rsquo;s new production hall in south Wichita at the opening on 23 October 2026. Photo: KWCH<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The partnership is not new, only newly public. Mike Atwood, GA-ASI&rsquo;s vice president of advanced programs, said at the opening that the two companies started working together in 2022, and that the team set itself a 500-day target from the start of design to first flight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;From the first pencil move in this building to the flight of the first aircraft was 483 days.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Mike Atwood<\/strong> &mdash; Vice President of Advanced Programs, GA-ASI, speaking in Wichita (via KAKE)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The companies had hoped to show an aircraft at the event, KWCH reported, but every fuselage had already moved on to the next stage of production.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=2113820292933951858&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:560px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why the Air Force needs a second production line<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The FQ-42A is one of two designs the Air Force ordered into production under Increment 1 of its CCA programme. The other is Anduril&rsquo;s FQ-44A Fury. The service has said it wants at least 500 CCAs in its inventory by 2032, a mixed fleet of both types, with further designs expected under a follow-on Increment 2.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>These jets are meant to fly alongside crewed fighters such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-35-lightning-ii\/\">F-35<\/a>, carrying weapons or sensors and taking risks a pilot should not. Atwood put the goal bluntly at the Wichita opening: an uncrewed aircraft that can do much of what an F-35 does, at about a quarter of the cost, to augment it rather than replace it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Five hundred airframes by 2032, shared between two types, is a steep ramp for a brand-new class of jet. Adding Spirit Defense as a second source for FQ-42 fuselages gives GA-ASI more room to grow, and the Air Force a hedge if one line stumbles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What comes next<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>GA-ASI also used the announcement to remind foreign customers of its Gambit Series, a family of modular uncrewed combat jets derived from the FQ-42, the XQ-67A and the MQ-20. The company said nations buying Gambit aircraft could add their own manufacturing, sensors and weapons.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>For Wichita, the deal is another sign that the Air Capital is moving into the uncrewed era. For the Air Force, it is a hedge. If the CCA bet works, the service will want these jets faster than any single factory can build them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, KWCH, KAKE, TWZ, Aviation Week<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What is the FQ-42 Vengeance?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The FQ-42A Vengeance is an uncrewed fighter built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for the US Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme. It is designed to fly alongside crewed fighters such as the F-35, carrying weapons or sensors, and was ordered into production under CCA Increment 1.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who is Spirit Defense?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Spirit Defense is the defence business of the former Spirit AeroSystems, now a Boeing company, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. It provides engineering, design-build and manufacturing for defence programmes, and in October 2026 became the fuselage design-build partner for the FQ-42 Vengeance.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What will Spirit Defense build for the FQ-42?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Spirit Defense is the fuselage design-build partner for the FQ-42 Vengeance. It opened a new 50,000-square-foot production hall in south Wichita on 23 October 2026, converted from a former tooling and factory support building, to build FQ-42 fuselages.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many CCA drones does the US Air Force want?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The US Air Force has said it wants at least 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft in its inventory by 2032. That figure covers a mixed fleet of General Atomics FQ-42A Vengeance and Anduril FQ-44A Fury jets, with further designs expected under a later Increment 2.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why did General Atomics bring in a production partner?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">General Atomics said the partnership adds manufacturing capacity and industrial depth so CCA production can scale faster, while reducing the risk of a single point of failure. The company had built all of its own uncrewed aircraft, including the MQ-9 Reaper, itself since 1992.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is the difference between the FQ-42 and the FQ-44?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The FQ-42A Vengeance is built by General Atomics and the FQ-44A Fury by Anduril. Both were ordered into production under Increment 1 of the US Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme, and the Air Force plans to field a mixed fleet of the two types.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the FQ-42 Vengeance?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The FQ-42A Vengeance is an uncrewed fighter built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for the US Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme. 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It opened a new 50,000-square-foot production hall in south Wichita on 23 October 2026, converted from a former tooling and factory support building, to build FQ-42 fuselages.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many CCA drones does the US Air Force want?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The US Air Force has said it wants at least 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft in its inventory by 2032. That figure covers a mixed fleet of General Atomics FQ-42A Vengeance and Anduril FQ-44A Fury jets, with further designs expected under a later Increment 2.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why did General Atomics bring in a production partner?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"General Atomics said the partnership adds manufacturing capacity and industrial depth so CCA production can scale faster, while reducing the risk of a single point of failure. 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Both were ordered into production under Increment 1 of the US Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme, and the Air Force plans to field a mixed fleet of the two types.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fq-42-vengeance-fq-44-fury-usaf-500-cca-2032\/\">FQ-42 Vengeance and FQ-44 Fury: USAF Wants 500 CCAs by 2032<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fq-42-vengeance-formation-f-35a-f-15e-photo-2026\/\">FQ-42 Vengeance Flies Formation With an F-35A and an F-15E<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fq-42a-fq-44a-cca-serial-production-arsenal-1-2026\/\">America&rsquo;s First Fighter Drones Roll Off the Line<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/f-22-raptor-commands-yfq-44a-fury-cca-in-flight-first-time-2026\/\">F-22 Commands a YFQ-44A Fury Drone in Flight for the First Time<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>General Atomics has picked Boeing-owned Spirit Defense in Wichita as fuselage design-build partner for the FQ-42 Vengeance CCA drone.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":29379725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29379782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Spirit Defense FQ-42: Boeing Unit Builds Fuselages | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta 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