Nichols Martin
General Atomics‘ aeronautical systems business used autonomous command and control technology to demonstrate aerial manned-unmanned teaming between a King Air 200 aircraft and its MQ-20 Avenger drone.
The company said Friday it used a ruggedized tactical control tablet with Autonodyne’s RCU-1000 Advanced Human Machine Interface to inform Avenger’s behavior and provide situational awareness.
A General Atomics Aeronautical Systems senior director shared that the demonstration aligns with company efforts to continuously provide commanders with air sensing capabilities.
The unmanned aircraft system flew from Mojave Desert to pair with the modified King Air, which travelled from an airport in San Diego to support the C2 technology’s integration and testing.
The two-hour demonstration exhibited how C2 technology can move airborne assets while autonomously providing situational awareness to troops.
Mike Atwood, senior director of advanced concepts at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, said the demonstration builds on previous autonomous testing of long-wave infrared and verifies the ability of Group 5 UAS to indicate moving targets while airborne.
