In its latest demonstration of advanced autonomous capability, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) successfully conducted a mission autonomy flight using its MQ-20 Avenger jet equipped with the latest government reference autonomy software.
The demonstration featured a live engagement between the MQ-20 and an aggressor aircraft flown by a human pilot, underscoring the growing maturity of autonomous systems, seamless mission integration, and the ability of onboard autonomy to independently sense, decide, and execute complex tasks. The MQ-20 Avenger has served as a surrogate platform for Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) development for more than five years, complementing GA-ASI’s purpose-built XQ-67A and YFQ-42A aircraft.
The demonstration began with mission planning via the Human-Machine Interface (HMI), followed by uploading the mission profile to the aircraft. Once airborne, the team verified smooth transitions between mission autonomy and flight autonomy, demonstrating dynamic adaptation to changing mission requirements. The MQ-20 strictly adhered to operator-defined Keep-Out Zones (KOZ) and Keep-In Zones (KIZ) throughout all mission phases.
A key highlight was the aircraft’s use of a live Infrared Search and Track (IRST) sensor from Anduril to passively detect and range a live target aircraft. Using this sensor data, the autonomy system independently established a track, calculated an intercept solution, and simulated a weapon engagement. The simulated shot, if executed in combat, would have resulted in a successful kill — all without human intervention.
Additional mission elements included flying a preplanned route to a standard instrument hold, executing Heading, Speed, and Altitude (HSA) commands, and continuing to subsequent waypoints while avoiding restricted airspace.
This demonstration reinforces GA-ASI’s commitment to advancing Human-Machine Teaming and accelerating autonomous capabilities for U.S. warfighters. It builds on prior partnerships, including collaborations with Divergent Technologies on digital manufacturing, Anduril and U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command on Altius 600 integration, Dillon Aero on live-fire testing with the Mojave STOL aircraft, and Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy demonstrations in 2025.
Source: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.,