Fighter and drone cooperate in Nevada crewed-uncrewed test

An F-22 and MQ-20 flew in coordination to demonstrate open-architecture control using government-owned communication systems and shared radio integration.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), Lockheed Martin and L3Harris Technologies carried out a successful Crewed-Uncrewed Teaming flight test on 21 October 2025. The test used a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter jet and a GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger unmanned jet to show command and control between the two aircraft.

The demonstration combined L3Harris’ BANSHEE Advanced Tactical Datalinks with its Pantera software-defined radios (SDRs), integrated using Lockheed Martin’s open radio architectures. One SDR was installed on the Avenger and another on the F-22.

Using the Pilot Vehicle Interface tablet and the F-22’s GRACE module, the fighter was able to control the unmanned aircraft in flight with end-to-end connectivity.

The exercise used U.S. government-owned, non-proprietary systems, and demonstrated reusable hardware aligned with the Open Mission Systems and unmanned autonomy ecosystem. It was held at the Nevada Test and Training Range and is part of a broader effort funded by internal R&D to explore further manned-unmanned coordination.