F-22 Successfully Controls MQ-20 Avenger in First Manned-Unmanned Combat Flight Test
Nov. 26, 2025
On Oct. 21 at the Nevada Test and Training Range, an F‑22 pilot successfully controlled an MQ‑20 Avenger unmanned combat air vehicle from the cockpit of the F‑22.
The F‑22 used a tablet-based “Pilot‑Vehicle Interface” (PVI) together with a “GRACE” open‑architecture compute module to send commands to the drone.
The test was conducted by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (provider of the MQ‑20), Lockheed Martin (developer of the F‑22 modifications, via its Skunk Works unit), and L3Harris Technologies (supplier of BANSHEE datalinks and software‑defined radios). Communications between the F‑22 and the drone were achieved with two software‑defined radios (SDRs), one aboard each aircraft, linked via a government-owned data‑link system.
The demonstration used the Avenger as a “surrogate” for future Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), under the U.S. Air Force effort to pair manned fighters with unmanned “loyal wingmen.” This flight-test marks the first publicly disclosed instance in which a fifth‑generation fighter (the F‑22) has directly commanded an unmanned combat jet in flight.
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