An F-35 Lightning II pilot sent tactical autonomy commands via a tablet to the MQ-20 Avenger as part of a recent Manned-Unmanned Teaming demonstration.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems announced that its MQ-20 Avenger drone has been finally paired with the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet, after a series of tests with the F-22 Raptor. The company did not disclose when the Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) demonstration took place.
The test was conducted in collaboration with the F-35 Joint Program Office, 309th Software Engineering Group, 461st Flight Test Squadron, 370th Flight Test Squadron, Lockheed Martin, and Autonodyne. The MQ-20 was equipped with GA-ASI’s TacACE (Tactical Autonomy Ecosystem) software, which is based on the Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA).
As in previous tests, the MQ-20 acted as a surrogate Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), helping to accelerate the introduction of the new platforms in the U.S. Air Force. GA-ASI is currently producing and testing the YFQ-42A CCA for the Increment 1 of the program.
The company says the demonstration CCA’s and F-35’s ability to use a tactical proliferated low Earth orbit data link to accomplish seamless coordination. Specifically, the F-35 pilot used a tablet in the cockpit to send tactical autonomy commands.
These commands were relayed to the MQ-20’s TacACE software and transmitted to the MQ-20 via Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) communications. Notably, the company said the F-35 was on the ground when the pilot sent the commands.
It is unclear if the fighter then joined the MQ-20 in flight. In the previous tests with the F-22 Raptor the company did not explicitly mention that the manned aircraft was on the ground.
The company further explained that the F-35 and MQ-20 demonstration validated the hardware, software, networks, and other systems required by MUM-T. “The MQ-20 successfully exchanged critical autonomous responses with the F-35, and the F-35 was able to send autonomy commands to the MQ-20 via a Bashi Pilot Vehicle Interface, directing the MQ-20 to execute tactical maneuvers, adjust waypoints, and pass ADS-B track data to the F-35,” mentioned the statement.
The Bashi PVI, produced by Autonodyne, was also previously used by the F-22 to control the MQ-20. The tablet-based system has been described as platform agnostic, as it was built on open and government architectures, allowing a quick integration of the fighter jets.
“This significant warfighter integration milestone is the beginning of operational readiness for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft and demonstrates the near-term opportunities for force integration,” said Michael Atwood, vice president of Advanced Programs. “Events like these drive home GA-ASI’s continued commitment to adoption of next-generation data links, mission autonomy, and unmanned air combat operations.”
The recent tests are yet another step towards the development of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), unmanned systems designed to operate alongside piloted fighters as force multipliers in what was called, until a few years ago, a “loyal wingman scenario”. In this role, autonomous aircraft like the MQ-20 can extend sensor coverage, increase survivability, and carry out missions that would otherwise place the life of human pilots at risk.
It was not unexpected for the F-22 to be part of the majority of the MUM-T test missions. In fac, the F-22 is the so-called “threshold platform” for CCA, as the U.S. Air Force plans to initially pair the CCAs only with the F-22 Raptor.
The service is also considering F-35As, F-16s, F-15Es and F-15EXs as future platform to be integrated with the CCAs. Meanwhile, as the testing of the YFQ-42 and YFQ-44 progresses, the MQ-20 Avenger has been used as a surrogate CCA platform for more than five years.
Previous tests
Earlier this year, the U.S. Air Force and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems conducted an autonomy demonstration involving an F-22 Raptor equipped with the latest government reference autonomy software and MQ-20 Avenger unmanned aircraft. The test took place out of Edwards Air Force Base, California, and focused on validating MUM-T with the two platforms.
The pilot aboard the F-22 acted as command aircraft, issuing commands to the MQ-20. The drone, which acted as a CCA surrogate, received and executed those commands, demonstrating its ability to operate in coordination with a crewed fighter in a realistic operational scenario.
The demonstration also validated the ability of the two aircraft to exchange information via tactical data link. Using the Autonodyne Bashi Pilot Vehicle Interface (PVI), the F-22 was able to send autonomy tasking directly to the MQ-20, directing it to perform tactical maneuvers, adjust waypoints, fly Combat Air Patrol profiles, and execute simulated threat engagement tasks.
A similar test, was carried out last year. On Oct. 21, 2025, an F-22 and an MQ-20 cooperated to demonstrate the integration of L3Harris’ BANSHEE Advanced Tactical Datalinks with its Pantera software-defined radios (SDRs) via Lockheed Martin’s open radio architectures, all integrated and shared from the Raptor.
As explained in our previous article, the F-22 pilot took command of the MQ-20 in flight using a PVI on a tablet and the F‑22’s GRACE (Government Reference Architecture Compute Environment) module. The latter is a new software being integrated on the Raptor, which would allow “non-traditional F-22 software” to be installed on the aircraft and provide “additional processing and pilot interfaces.”
