The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Air Combat Command’s Experimental Operations Unit have successfully completed a flight of the XQ-67A Autonomous Collaborative Platform at the Nevada Test and Training Range.
This latest flight, conducted under the Demonstration of ACP Performance and Effectiveness (Demon APE) project, is part of a broader effort to accelerate delivery of new autonomous platforms to the front line.
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According to the Air Force, the integration of AFRL’s rapid prototyping processes with operational testing from Air Combat Command is helping to significantly reduce the time between early concept and fielded warfighter capability.
DAF Air deputy technology executive officer colonel Matthew Caspers said: “By pairing AFRL’s rapid prototyping with ACC’s operational test units, the Air Force is shortening the timeline between concept and warfighter capability.”
During the demonstration, the XQ-67A incorporated multiple advanced mission systems, including next-generation sensor and mission computing equipment, as well as power and thermal management hardware engineered for collaborative roles in challenging operational environments.
The flight also saw the use of Beyond Line-of-Sight datalinks, together with live, virtual and constructive simulations, to coordinate unmanned platforms across dispersed operational zones, supporting a more resilient, layered command and control system.
AFRL air warfare directorate, aerospace engineer Trenton White said: “This proved that AFRL’s autonomous architectures, aligned with Autonomy and Agile Mission Suite Government Reference Architectures, can reliably process and relay combat-relevant data in real-world scenarios.”
The latest flight comes after GA-ASI flew the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) for the first time in February 2024.
In July last year, AFRL carried out a flight test in the California High Desert in which the XQ-67A integrated government-owned autonomy alongside an active tactical datalink, supporting dynamic mission execution and real-time coordination between crewed and uncrewed systems.
