A consortium involving the US Air Force and Autonodyne has recently executed a demonstration of human-machine teaming (HMT) and beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) datalink communication at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Other participants included the F-35 Joint Program Office Future Capabilities and Technology team, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Lockheed Martin, the 309th Software Engineering Group, the 461st Flight Test Squadron, and the 370th Flight Test Squadron.
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During the demonstration, Autonodyne’s Bashi tablet was utilised from the cockpit of a ground-based F-35 Lightning II to command an airborne MQ-20 Avenger acting as a surrogate Combat Collaborative Aircraft.
The flight lasted 3.5 hours, with the pilot vehicle interface enabling the F-35 pilot to issue tactical commands in real time from the cockpit, Autonodyne stated.
The exercise used a full operational system integrating the Bashi software, Government Reference Architecture Compute Environment (GRACE), secure line-of-sight and BLOS communications, and Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) protocols.
The connectivity enabled the F-35 pilot to send autonomy commands via the tablet, which were transmitted to the MQ-20’s TacACE, employing skills based on A-GRA for integration.
This trial is the latest in a series of CCA flight exercises supported by Autonodyne, which has previously demonstrated its Bashi software with the F-22 Raptor and F-16 Fighting Falcon.
With initial system integration completed, the Air Force now plans to expand flight testing and advance development of tactics, techniques, and procedures related to HMT.
Additional CCA platforms, such as the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, are also set to be included in upcoming exercises.
Autonodyne is expected to continue supporting these demonstrations as the programme progresses through 2026.
