General Atomics demonstrates autonomous combat drone MQ-20 Avenger in air combat

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) tested a combat drone MQ-20 Avenger equipped with autonomous control software on January 18 in an air combat against a manned jet. The MQ-20 successfully completed all mission phases, calculating an intercept course for the aggressor and simulating the shooting down of the jet.

The MQ-20 Avenger is a combat drone that evolved from the development of the Predator drones of the 90s and is based on the MQ-9 Reaper. Initially developed under the designation Predator C, the MQ-20 made its maiden flight in April 2009. The drone, approximately 13.4 m long with a wingspan of around 20.1 m, is equipped with a PW545B turbofan engine from Pratt & Whitney Canada, which accelerates it to a maximum speed of 740 km/h. Its service ceiling is 15,240 m, and its maximum flight duration is 18 hours.

The drone can carry a payload of up to 2948 kg. Various weapon systems can be docked and fired, such as AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles and different precision-guided aerial bombs (Guided Bomb Unit) that are guided to the target by laser, GPS, or internal navigation system.

Autonomous Mission Execution

GA-ASI has equipped one of the MQ-20 drones with the latest reference autonomous software, enabling the machine to fly and act autonomously according to a predefined mission. To achieve this, a mission is planned with a Human-Machine Interface (HMI), and the mission profile is loaded onto the drone to instruct the separate flight and mission autonomy systems. Among other things, keep-in and keep-out zones are defined, in which the drone is allowed or not allowed to move. The mission is monitored throughout by a ground station, which can also intervene in emergencies.

Using a live IRST (Infrared Search and Track) sensor from defense contractor Anduril, the Avenger drone detected a manned jet. GA-ASI does not reveal which type was used. However, in similar demonstrations, a light supersonic multirole fighter jet of the F-5 Tiger II type has been used. The MQ-20's autonomous software calculated an intercept flight path for the jet and simulated shooting down the target. GA-ASI states that the target would have been destroyed in a real engagement.

The drone autonomously completed further mission objectives, such as flying predefined routes and circling in a holding pattern until proceeding to the next mission objective – a common procedure in real missions of human-piloted combat jets. The MQ-20 successfully circumvented the previously defined restricted zones under realistic conditions.

(olb)