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General Atomics Progresses Autonomy Infrastructure for UCAVs and More

The company’s recent flight test series features U.S. government-provided autonomy software.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. flies a government reference autonomy stack at Orange Flag 25-1. Credit: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. flies a government reference autonomy stack at Orange Flag 25-1 via MQ-20 Avenger. Credit: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.

General Atomics, a defense and diversified technologies company, is making advancements in its development of autonomous systems.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) flew U.S. government-provided autonomy software aboard a company-owned MQ-20 Avenger during the Air Force Test Center’s all-domain test series called Orange Flag 25-1, which took place February 19-21 at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

According to a General Atomics press release, the demonstration showcased the company’s development of unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) capabilities through collaboration with partners and government entities via a government-provided pilot vehicle interface (PVI).

The government-provided autonomy software is known as a reference autonomy stack, and it conducted air-to-air engagements while integrated into the Avenger, which is a jet-powered unmanned aircraft system used specifically for testing future autonomous collaborative platforms.

According to the release, the government-provided PVI controlled and monitored the autonomy stack, and the Shield artificial intelligence (AI) stack demonstrated autonomy skills for safe administrative phases of flight. The successful test flights indicate that GA-ASI aircraft can jump from company-written to government-provided and to other vendors’ software, and the UCAVs can keep up with software upgrades.

During the demonstration, GA-ASI was also able to quickly transition between autonomy systems midflight over proliferated low-Earth orbit satellites, using a Shield AI product, the release stated.

GA-ASI aims to keep developing an autonomy infrastructure for UCAVs that will enable rapid integration and validation of tactical software applications as it continues to build and test the collaborative combat aircraft as requested by the U.S. Air Force, according to the release.

In addition to advancing its UCAV capabilities, General Atomics is striving to enhance its signals intelligence capabilities by acquiring a company known for delivering AI and machine learning-based autonomous signal processing and data dissemination solutions.

General Atomics Integrated Intelligence Inc. announced on March 3 its acquisition of North Point Defense Inc., a provider of signals intelligence exploitation software and sensor integration. According to the press release, General Atomics is looking to advance its signals intelligence capabilities and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance solutions for air, sea, ground and space platforms.

“Joining GA [General Atomics] represents an incredible opportunity to enhance our impact in delivering cutting-edge SIGINT [signals intelligence] solutions in support of national and tactical users,” said Bruce Benenati, president of North Point Defense, in the release. “As part of a mission-focused organization with a proven track record in tactical intelligence across the DoD [U.S. Department of Defense] and IC [intelligence community], we can accelerate innovation and deployment at scale. The integration gives our team access to unmatched operational expertise, resources and a broader customer base. Together, we are poised to deliver even greater capabilities to those who depend on us in the field.”