On February 23, 2026, General Atomics and the US Air Force demonstrated an F-22 Raptor directing a MQ-20 Avenger drone in real time during a joint autonomy exercise at Edwards Air Force Base. The F-22 sent tactical maneuver and waypoint commands to the MQ-20 via the Autonodyne Bashi Pilot Vehicle Interface. That included directing it through combat air patrol and airborne threat engagement tasks.
What actually happened in this test?
GA-ASI’s MQ-20 Avenger, an unmanned jet, exchanged messages with an F-22 Raptor equipped with government reference autonomy software during an autonomous mission flown out of Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California. The F-22 pilot sent autonomy commands to the MQ-20 through the Autonodyne Bashi Pilot Vehicle Interface. That included directing it to execute tactical maneuvers, adjust waypoints, and perform Combat Air Patrol and airborne threat engagement tasks.
Why does a manned fighter controlling a drone matter?
This is a real demonstration of manned-unmanned teaming: a human pilot in a crewed aircraft directing an uncrewed one’s tactical behavior in flight, not just receiving its sensor feed. That distinction is the core idea behind Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) — drones that extend a fighter’s reach and capability as directed extensions of the pilot, rather than independently-tasked assets flown by a separate operator elsewhere.
What is the MQ-20 Avenger?
The MQ-20 is GA-ASI’s unmanned jet, distinct from the propeller-driven MQ-9 Reaper covered elsewhere on this site. Its jet propulsion gives it the speed profile needed to actually keep pace with a fighter like the F-22 during coordinated maneuvers, which a slower platform couldn’t do.
What does this mean going forward?
The Air Force has been building toward CCAs as force multipliers, letting a single pilot effectively control multiple aircraft’s worth of combat capability. A live demonstration of tactical command handoff, not just data sharing, is a concrete step in that direction rather than a conceptual one.
Sources: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, FlightGlobal.
