General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the F-35 Joint Program Office, the U.S. Air Force and Autonodyne have completed a human-machine teaming demonstration pairing an F-35 Lightning II with an MQ-20 Avenger surrogate Collaborative Combat Aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base. The 27 May 2026 test used beyond-line-of-sight communications to let the F-35 pilot send tactical autonomy commands from a cockpit tablet while the MQ-20 flew an autonomous 3.5-hour mission.
The exercise validated the hardware, software, networks and data links needed for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft effort. GA-ASI said the MQ-20 was fitted with TacACE autonomy software, while Autonodyne’s Bashi pilot vehicle interface and government reference architecture tools handled cockpit control and mission tasking. The aircraft exchanged autonomous responses and track data, including tactical maneuvers, waypoint changes and ADS-B information.
The MQ-20 has served as a surrogate CCA for more than five years, and the latest test follows earlier teaming work involving F-22 and F-16 platforms.