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General Atomics Demonstrates F-22 Raptor's Drone Control Capability

November 17, 2025

2 min read

Key Takeaways

General Atomics demonstrated F-22 Raptor's drone control capability.
MQ-20 Avenger drone controlled from F-22 cockpit.
US Air Force expects drone integration to be key to future forces.

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Strategic Implications

This demonstration may indicate the US Air Force's growing interest in integrating drones with manned aircraft. The F-22's role as a 'threshold platform' for drone integration suggests a shift towards more autonomous operations, which could have implications for the future of manned-unmanned teaming. However, it's unclear how this will play out in practice, and the success of the demo may depend on the development of more advanced drone autonomy software.

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What Happened

F-22 Stealth Fighter Controls MQ-20 Avenger Drone from Cockpit

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems demonstrated the ability of the F-22 Raptor to control an MQ-20 Avenger drone from its cockpit, a capability that the US Air Force expects will be key to its future forces. The demo, which was part of a company-funded demonstration, leveraged Lockheed Martin’s open radio architectures and L3Harris-supplied datalinks and software-defined radios. The F-22 and MQ-20 were controlled using a tablet and a new software government reference architecture, respectively. This follows recent revelations that the F-22 will serve as the ’threshold platform’ for drone integration, and that the US Air Force is seeking to integrate drones with manned aircraft in the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.

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