Engineering:General Atomics XQ-67A
| XQ-67A | |
|---|---|
 XQ-67A first flight | |
| General information | |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | General Atomics Aeronautical Systems |
| Management and usage | United States Air Force |
| History | |
| First flight | 28 February 2024 |
| Developed into | General Atomics YFQ-42 |
The General Atomics XQ-67A is a developmental unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) for the United States Air Force Off-Board Sensing Station program and as a prototype for the collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) program.[1][2]
Design and development
In February 2023 the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced that GA-ASI had been selected to build and test a UAV for the Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) program, intended to fly ahead of and pass data back to manned aircraft. The prototype was publicly unveiled by GA-ASI on 8 February 2024. It is unclear whether or not the XQ-67A is capable of carrying weapons.[3]
The XQ-67A had its first flight on 28 February 2024 from GA-ASI's Grey Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale, California. The AFRL stated that "the XQ-67A is the first of a second generation of autonomous collaborative platforms. Following the success of the XQ-58A Valkyrie, the first low-cost uncrewed air vehicle intended to provide the warfighter with credible and affordable mass, the XQ-67A proves the common chassis, or "genus", approach to aircraft design, build and test. This approach paves the way for other aircraft "species" to be rapidly replicated on a standard genus chassis. The genus can be built upon for other aircraft — similar to that of a vehicle frame — with the possibility of adding different aircraft kits to the frame, such as an Off-Board Sensing Station or Off-Board Weapon Station."[4]
On 24 April 2024, upon being awarded for the collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) Increment I, GA-ASI announced that the XQ-67A was a prototype for the CCA program and that the official entry for the CCA, later designated the YFQ-42, would be based on the XQ-67A and feature a common core system. It is speculated that the XQ-67A is representative of "Gambit 1", the first iteration of the previously revealed General Atomics Gambit family. However, GA-ASI has made no specific connection between the XQ-67A, the CCA program, and Gambit.[2][1]
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "GA-ASI Selected to Build CCA for AFLCMC". General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.. 24 Apr 2024. https://www.ga-asi.com/ga-asi-selected-to-build-cca-for-aflcmc.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Trevithick, Joseph (24 Apr 2024). "XQ-67 Confirmed To Be A Prototype For General Atomics’ Collaborative Combat Aircraft Design". The Warzone. https://www.twz.com/air/xq-67-confirmed-to-be-a-prototype-for-general-atomics-collaborative-combat-aircraft-design.
- ↑ "General Atomics unveils XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station UAV". Janes. 12 February 2024. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/general-atomics-unveils-xq-67a-off-board-sensing-station-uav.
- ↑ "AFRL's XQ-67A makes 1st successful flight". Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs. 5 March 2024. https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3694599/afrls-xq-67a-makes-1st-successful-flight/.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
External links
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