An FQ-42 Vengeance drone, then known as the YFQ-42A Dark Merlin, is tested at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, in August 2025. Weeks after its official designation as the FQ-42, it is confirmed that the advanced drone will remain at the base. (US Air Force)

The US Air Force’s FQ-42 Vengeance Drone Has a New (Old) Home

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The FQ-42—one of two “collaborative combat aircraft” under development for the Air Force, alongside the FQ-44 Fury—will remain at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, for the foreseeable future.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the developers of the FQ-42 Vengeance, will continue flight testing at Creech Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada. At least one FQ-42 has already been delivered to the base in Clark County, which serves as a primary command center for global drone operations.

At Creech AFB, the FQ-42 will “continue regular test and evaluation operations,” according to GA-ASI. It follows previous test flights at an undisclosed facility in California, where the........

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