In a first, F-22 pilot controls wingman drone from cockpit, General Atomics says

DUBAI AIR SHOW — In what General Atomics Aeronautical Systems says is the first known demonstration of its kind for the F-22 Raptor, a pilot flying the stealth fighter successfully controlled an MQ-20 Avenger drone from the jet’s cockpit — a capability the US Air Force expects will be key to its future forces. 

The demonstration occurred Oct. 21 at the Nevada Test and Training Range, with F-22 manufacturer Lockheed Martin and defense firm L3Harris teaming up as part of a company-funded demo, MQ-20-maker GA revealed today in a press release. The test flight is one of several planned for internal research and development.

“The MQ-20 Avenger, tricked out with mature mission autonomy software, is a perfect CCA surrogate and allows us to move fast and move first,” GA spokesman C. Mark Brinkley told Breaking Defense. “We already know the F-22 will play a critical role in crewed-uncrewed teaming operations, and General Atomics is in a unique position to get this started now.”

The effort leveraged Lockheed’s open radio architectures to integrate L3Harris-supplied datalinks and software-defined radios for the demo, with one radio put on the Avenger and another on the Raptor, according to GA. The drone was controlled using a tablet in the single-seat jet and a new software government reference architecture, exhibiting what GA says was non-proprietary, US-government-owned communications capabilities. 

Alongside Anduril, GA is currently on contract for the first round of the US Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, which envisions manned fighters operating drone wingmen in the manner of the MQ-20 demo. GA has formally put up its YFQ-42A unmanned aircraft for the actual competition, while it flies the MQ-20 as an integration test article. RTX and Shield AI are separately on contract for the drone wingmen’s autonomy suites, Breaking Defense previously reported. 

A full-sized model of General Atomics’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (top) and Anduril’s (bottom) on display at AFA 2024 on Sept. 20, 2024. (Breaking Defense photos)

Service officials maintain they can carry multiple contractors, including new entrants, into production for the first CCA round, while awards for conceptual contracts for the second round are expected within months. As of Halloween, both Anduril and GA have notched a first flight for their respective prototype airframes in the CCA program. 

The F-22 demonstration follows the recent revelation from the US Air Force that the Raptor will serve as the “threshold platform” for drone integration.

An Air Force official previously told Breaking Defense that the fighter was prioritized due to its availability and role in the “pacing environment,” but also said that the F-22 is simply a starting point for unmanned teaming that will eventually expand to other aircraft like the F-35.