Air
General Atomics is building a 60-hour hybrid-electric strike drone it calls NextGen
General Atomics told The War Zone on Oct. 30 that it is developing a large flying-wing drone called NextGen for intelligence, surveillance and strike, with hybrid-electric propulsion the company says will keep it aloft for more than 60 hours without refueling. Spokesperson C. Mark Brinkley said NextGen is not a collaborative combat aircraft and that the work will feed Gambit 4, the stealthy flying-wing member of the company's Gambit family. No customer or schedule was named. Separately, GA plans live-fire missile tests of its FQ-42A Vengeance CCA later this year and a company-funded ground-attack shot from an air-to-surface Gambit 6 derivative in early 2027.
Image: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (Gambit family rendering, 2022 press release)
Why it matters
Sixty hours unrefueled is a different product from a CCA, and GA is saying so out loud: this is an MQ-9 successor with a stealthy shape and an electric drivetrain, aimed at the long-dwell ISR and strike missions Reaper owns today. The hybrid-electric claim is the part to watch, since the same AFRL-funded ducted-fan work that enables endurance also cuts heat and noise, which is what makes a large wing survivable over contested water. With no customer named, the near-term signal is to the Air Force and Navy budget writers deciding whether a 60-hour armed wing belongs in the FY28 unmanned portfolio alongside CCA.