General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) and Lockheed Martin have completed an autonomous flight test of the MQ-20 Avenger for the US Navy’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program in Maryland.
The initiative is an ongoing effort to develop 1,000 “loyal wingman” systems that can be coupled with manned bombers and fighter jets.
Conducted at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the demo evaluated the connection between the Avenger and the US Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control Station (UCMS), a command and control platform used to oversee and direct autonomous assets including the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray.
The UCMS was integrated with the Multi-Domain Combat System built by Lockheed Martin segment Skunk Works to assist the aircraft’s flight.
Throughout the test, the UCMS was linked with a proliferated low-Earth orbit satellite constellation to relay flight controls and mission systems data, enabling air station personnel in Maryland to safely pilot the drone from GA-ASI’s center in California.
“This effort was a prime example of industry partners and government agencies working together to perform important new capabilities,” GA-ASI President David Alexander stated.
“The team efficiently and safely demonstrated aircraft flight control from another government agency’s control station. The team not only executed airborne commands, but did so in a safe, controlled environment.”
General Atomics signed a contract in April 2024 to design, construct, and trial a pre-production drone for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
The company also facilitated a parallel test for the effort using a “digital twin” of the MQ-20 in January 2023 to further validate the drone’s artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.
The US Navy is expected to unveil the selected design for the initiative in 2026. It will be followed by the production of a fully operational aircraft in the 2030s.
