General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), winner of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) LongShot competition, will begin the flight test phase of its unmanned air-launched combat drone beginning in 2024.
Initiated in 2020, General Atomics was competitively awarded a contract to develop DARPA’s concept for disruptive air combat operations by demonstrating an air vehicle capable of delivering air-to-air weapons. The concept is intended to significantly increase the range and mission effectiveness of current 4th generation fighters and air-to-air missiles.
Over the past three years, GA-ASI has been testing numerous vehicle designs to optimize performance and will complete the design en route to flight testing in 2024. The tests will validate the basic handling characteristics of the vehicle and lay the groundwork for further development and testing.
“We are extremely excited to get in the air!” said Mike Atwood, Senior Director of Advanced Aircraft Programs at GA-ASI. “Flight testing will validate digital designs that have been refined throughout the course of the project. General Atomics is dedicated to leveraging this process to rapidly deliver innovative unmanned capabilities for national defense.”
See also: GA-ASI’s MQ-9B Mojave drone took off and landed in 300 ft
LongShot Program
Through the DARPA-led LongShot program, the Pentagon is looking for a way to multiply its air combat assets, while increasing the survivability of its manned aircraft, in an airspace contested by a technologically sophisticated opponent (China or Russia).
To this end, it was decided that one of the ways to achieve this will be to develop combat drones capable of carrying and launching air-to-air guided ordnance. Another key feature of this unmanned system is that it will be launched from manned aircraft such as fighters, transports and others, adding enormous combat capability and versatility. LongShot will increase the combat range of manned fighters, which will be able to conduct interceptions of enemy aircraft long before they can fire their own weapons.
