GA-ASI demonstrates autonomous air-to-air engagement capability

Californian firm General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and its sister company General Atomics Integrated Intelligence, Inc. (GA-Intelligence) have successfully demonstrated an autonomous air-to-air engagement.

The flight integrated local and global sensor fusion to deliver real-time situational awareness and autonomous tasking to an airborne MQ-20 Avenger using the Tactical Autonomy Core Ecosystem (TacACE) to close the kill chain. This demonstration showcased the system’s maturity and operational readiness.

During the exercise, a live MQ-20 aircraft acting as a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) surrogate autonomously patrolled a designated Combat Air Patrol (CAP) zone, leveraging off-board sensors to demonstrate how passive collection techniques can inform autonomous platforms in real time, General Atomics said.

Four CCA surrogates in all — one live and three virtual — were directed by an operator to investigate multiple targets of interest. Upon identifying them as threats, the operator issued a command to initiate the Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS) engagement. The autonomous systems manoeuvred into position, simulated missile launches, assessed battle damage, and returned to CAP without additional operator input.

The event featured the integration of the GA-ASI MQ-20, a fully compliant government-owned autonomy implementation, and BLOS Command and Control (C2), says the company. The MQ-20 unmanned jet, furnished by GA-ASI, acted as a CCA surrogate in a sensor Emission Control (EMCON) environment. It was operated autonomously and controlled using distributed-edge C2 nodes powered by Optix.C2 and Omniview software.

Optix.C2, a product from General Atomics-Intelligence, provides low-latency, localized C2 functionality while remaining networked to the broader operational picture, enabling real-time coordination across multiple domains.

Dr. Brian Ralston, President of GA-Intelligence, applauded the joint effort: “This demonstration illustrates the value of integrating cutting-edge and proven technologies across the GA enterprise,” he said. “The Optix data platform and C2 capability enable rapid integration and experimentation to address critical DoD and IC needs.”

General Atomics successfully fused space-based sensing and tactical sensing with the C2 node during the flight, giving the aircraft access to a complete real-time threat picture for enhanced onboard autonomous decision-making. The demonstration also included live coordination of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and kinetic tasking through a unified operator interface capable of deployment in virtually any cloud environment.

“This demonstration represents a substantial leap in autonomy and human-machine interfaces that are critical to the warfighter in the near-peer fight,” said Michael Atwood, Vice President of Advanced Programs at GA-ASI. “By integrating Optix.C2 with TacACE, we’re delivering a system that not only operates at the tactical edge but also enables rapid decision-making and execution across the battlespace. This is the future of warfare — scalable, autonomous systems that empower the warfighter to dominate at range.”