The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) MQ-20 Avenger uncrewed aircraft has performed a test mission with a Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter of the US Air Force, as the company separately plans long-range standoff weapons for the MQ-9B.
The work saw the manned fighter equipped with the autonomy software that allowed it to perform a teaming demonstration with the unmanned aircraft, says GA-ASI.
The F-22 acted as command aircraft and the MQ-20 demonstrated the ability to receive and execute commands through a tactical data link.
The MQ-20 was able to send messages to the F-22, which in turn sent commands via the Autonodyne Bashi Pilot Vehicle Interface (PVI), a software that lets a human pilot in a manned aircraft command and task autonomous uncrewed aircraft during missions.
During the demonstration, the F-22 was able to direct to the MQ-20 to perform a combat air patrol and other tasks against airborne threats.
“We appreciate the flawless execution of this mission using the government’s advanced autonomous systems,” said GA-ASI president David Alexander.
“This demo featured the integration of mission elements and the ability of autonomy to utilize onboard sensors to make independent decisions and execute commands from the F-22.”
Separately, GA-ASI says that it is “developing the addition of long-range standoff weapons” for the MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian uncrewed aircraft.
The company notes demand for standoff strike capabilities, particularly in the western Pacific.
To this end, the company is looking at integrated weapons such as the Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, and the Kongsberg/Raytheon Joint Strike Missile.
An MQ-9B will fly “at least one” of these three weapons during 2026.
“We want to continue to build value in the aircraft by expanding into more missions,” says Alexander. “MQ-9B features extraordinary payload capacity, so it only makes sense to add to our mission sets with the ability to carry long-range weapons.”
