Avenger Drone Flies Autonomously Using LEO SATCOM Datalink

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has flown live, tactical, air combat maneuvers using AI pilots to control a company-owned MQ-20 Avenger UAS. Collaborative maneuvers between human and AI pilots were conducted using GA-ASI's Live, Virtual, Constructive (LVC) collaborative combat aircraft ecosystem over a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) SATCOM provider's IP-based Mission Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) datalink. The LEO SATCOM connection was also used to rapidly retrain and redeploy AI pilots while the aircraft was airborne, demonstrating GA-ASI's ability to update AI pilots within minutes. This marks the first deployment of an LEO SATCOM provider connections running on an operationally relevant unmanned combat aerial vehicle platform. The team used two L3Harris Technologies RASOR Multi-Functional Processors (MFPs) – one that housed the transceiver card and another that controlled the BVLOS Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA).