SAN DIEGO - General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) in San Diego, Calif., the F-35 Joint Program Office, the 309th Software Engineering Group, the 461st Flight Test Squadron, the 370th Flight Test Squadron, Lockheed Martin Corp. in Bethesda, Md., and Autonodyne in Boston recently conducted a flight test demonstrating advanced crewed-uncrewed teaming between a fighter aircraft and a collaborative combat aircraft surrogate.
The test paired an MQ-20 Avenger with an F-35 Lightning II to evaluate how crewed and uncrewed platforms can coordinate through autonomy-enabled mission systems in a distributed operational environment.
At the core of the demonstration was a layered architecture combining command and control, onboard autonomy, and resilient communications. The MQ-20 was equipped with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.’s TacACE (Tactical Autonomy Ecosystem), which implements behavior-based autonomy aligned with government reference architectures, including the Autonomy Government Reference Architecture.
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Good teammates
Crewed-uncrewed teaming is built on three integrated functions. The command layer allows a pilot or mission system aboard a crewed platform to issue intent-based tasking, such as repositioning to a waypoint, adjusting mission geometry, or initiating coordinated maneuvers.
The autonomy layer onboard the uncrewed aircraft translates those high-level commands into executable behaviors using mission logic, constraints, and prevalidated control laws. The communications layer provides beyond line-of-sight connectivity using tactical data links and proliferated low Earth orbit networks to maintain coordination across distributed nodes.
In this test, communications were maintained between an airborne MQ-20 and an F-35 operating on the ground. The pilot issued commands via a tablet-based cockpit interface, which were transmitted through the network architecture to the MQ-20’s TacACE system. The autonomy software then executed the requested behaviors, including waypoint adjustments, maneuver execution, and the exchange of track data, including Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast information, back to the F-35.
LEO links
The use of a proliferated low Earth orbit data link added resilience by reducing reliance on traditional line-of-sight or legacy satellite-only architectures. This distributed approach is designed to improve communications robustness in contested electromagnetic environments where jamming, interference, or network degradation may occur.
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The demonstration also validated interoperability between autonomy stacks and mission systems built on open reference architectures. Using standards-aligned frameworks such as A-GRA is intended to reduce integration friction and allow new autonomous behaviors, sensors, or platforms to be inserted into the force architecture with fewer platform-specific modifications.
From a mission perspective, crewed-uncrewed teaming is intended to expand operational reach and sensor coverage while distributing workload across the force. Crewed platforms such as the F-35 can function as mission command nodes, while uncrewed systems like the MQ-20 extend sensing, communications relay functions, and tactical coverage across larger geographic areas.
This architecture supports faster and more distributed decision-making by reducing the time between detection, tracking, and mission updates. Uncrewed systems can reposition rapidly to extend sensor fields, maintain track continuity, and pass information back to crewed platforms in near real time, improving situational awareness in complex airspace.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. said the MQ-20 has served as a surrogate collaborative combat aircraft test platform for more than five years, supporting experimentation in autonomy, distributed sensing, and networked mission execution alongside newer systems such as the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station and YFQ-42A.
