On November 5, 2024, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) used its MQ-20 Avenger Unmanned Aircraft System to perform commanded autonomy maneuvers as part of a demonstration with the U.S. Navy (USN). The USN used its MD-5 Ground Control Station (GCS) with Lockheed Martin’s MDCX autonomy platform to command and control the jet-powered UAS. Working collaboratively with the USN and Lockheed Martin, the GA-ASI team successfully executed the flight demonstration over a Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) datalink.

The USN’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program office PMA-268 used GA-ASI’s MQ-20 as a surrogate to demonstrate how its Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control Station (UMCS) can command a variety of unmanned aircraft. The MD-5 GCS was operated from the USN’s test facility at Patuxent River, Maryland, while the MQ-20 was flown out of GA-ASI’s Desert Horizon flight operations facility in El Mirage, California.

This flight was the first time a GA-ASI UAS completed bi-directional communications using the UMCS operation codes while performing autonomous behavior. The procedure was completed using the PLEO datalink.

“This effort was a prime example of industry partners and government agencies working together to perform important new capabilities,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “The team efficiently and safely demonstrated aircraft flight control from another government agency’s control station. Using GA-ASI’s Tactical Autonomy Core Ecosystem (TacACE) software, the team not only executed airborne commands, but did so in a safe, controlled environment.”

“Skunk Works is proud to collaborate with the Navy to develop a common control architecture and ground control station for autonomous platforms to bring its Carrier Air Wing of the Future vision to life,” said John Clark, Skunk Works vice president and general manager. “The MDCX Command and Control Software Development Kit, using the government’s Open Mission Standards, allowed General Atomics to rapidly integrate their MQ-20 ’autonomy core’ with delivered developmental MDCX systems in the MD-5 UMCS demonstrating common control capability and third-party platform integration.”

The demonstration was part of an effort to advance technology for future Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). GA-ASI initiated the demonstration between PMA-268 and Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works to demonstrate connectivity between the Navy’s UMCS and GA-ASI’s MQ-20 Avenger. MQ-20 is a jet-powered platform used extensively as a CCA surrogate test bed for autonomous UAS technology development. GA-ASI was recently selected for the U.S. Air Force’s CCA program.