Manned-unmanned teaming demoed in airborne test using MQ-20 Avenger
NewsSeptember 07, 2021
POWAY, Calif. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) continues to advance new levels of autonomous control for unmanned aircraft, completing an airborne manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) demonstration pairing a company-owned MQ-20 Avenger with a modified King Air 200 as a surrogate for 4th- and 5th-generation tactical fighters.
According to officials, the flight demonstrated autonomous collaboration using command and control (C2) of the Avenger from a ruggedized tactical control tablet, integrated with Autonodyne’s RCU-1000 Advanced Human Machine Interface, to provide real-time situational awareness combined with complex behavior tasking.
Officials claim that the airborne node utilized a GA-ASI-modified King Air 200, which allowed for rapid integration and test of the C2 hardware. The Avenger flight originated from GA-ASI’s Desert Horizon facility in the Mojave Desert and the King Air took off from Montgomery Airport in San Diego. The demo lasted for approximately two hours.
The company claims that the successful test proves the ability for GA-ASI MUM-T to command airborne assets while autonomously executing behaviors and missions that provide increased awareness and effectiveness to the warfighter.
