Boeing-owned Spirit Defense joins production of General Atomics FQ-42 Vengeance – Air Data News

Boeing-owned Spirit Defense joins production of General Atomics FQ-42 Vengeance  Air Data News

Former Spirit AeroSystems defense business will design and manufacture the fuselage for the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft 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. 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. Spirit Defense has prepared approximately 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Wichita, Kansas, for the program. General Atomics said