General Atomics has demonstrated successful interoperability between the F-35 Lightning II and the MQ-20 Avenger drone in support of the US Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. During the test, an F-35 pilot used a tablet-based cockpit interface to relay commands to the autonomous drone through beyond-line-of-sight communications. The MQ-20 operated using General Atomics’ Tactical Autonomy Ecosystem software, designed to support future manned-unmanned teaming concepts. The demonstration highlights the growing role of autonomous systems and AI-driven combat collaboration in next-generation air warfare.
