GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger makes another autonomous aerial intercept in company-funded demo

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) has successfully executed a mission autonomy flight using its jet-powered MQ-20 Avenger unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that included a live engagement between the MQ-20 and an aggressor aircraft flown by an onboard human pilot, GA-ASI announced on 18 January 2026.

The test, in which the MQ-20 was equipped with the latest government reference autonomy software, highlighted the advanced maturity of autonomous systems, the seamless integration of mission elements and the ability of autonomy to leverage onboard sensors to make independent decisions and execute complex tasks, GA-ASI noted.

An MQ-20 Avenger achieved the type’s first successful simulated autonomous air-to-air shoot-down on 11 June 2025 using Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy software.

The MQ-20 Avenger has served as a surrogate for collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) for more than five years, both before and since the arrival of GA-ASI’s purpose-built XQ-67A and YFQ-42A aircraft. The recent Avenger demo began with planning in the human-machine interface (HMI), followed by loading the mission profile onto the MQ-20. Once airborne, the team confirmed positive transfer between mission autonomy and flight autonomy systems, demonstrating the systems’ ability to dynamically adapt to mission requirements. During the test the MQ-20 showcased adherence to operator-assigned keep-out zones (KOZ) and keep-in zones (KIZ), thus flying strictly where it was supposed to be operating.

One of the highlights of the demonstration was the MQ-20’s use of a live infrared search and track (IRST) sensor from Anduril to passively range a live target aircraft in flight. Using this sensor data the autonomy system independently established a track, calculated an intercept solution and simulated the firing of a weapon at a live target, demonstrating the ability of autonomy to close on a target using onboard sensors and its own logic without human intervention. The simulated shot, if real, would have destroyed the target, GA-AsI noted.

Additional mission elements included the MQ-20 flying a pre-designated route to a standard instrument hold, in which the aircraft pauses and orbits, as real human pilots frequently do on real missions, before continuing to another waypoint or objective and executing routes commanded via heading, speed, and altitude (HSA), all while successfully avoiding the designated keep-out zones.

“This demonstration reinforces GA-ASI’s commitment to advancing human-machine teaming and highlights the growing sophistication of autonomous systems in using sensor data and onboard decision-making to execute complex mission profiles for the warfighter,” GA-ASI stated. “It also highlights GA-ASI’s ongoing commitment to investment and experimentation of new capabilities for America’s warfighters.”