By Marina Malenic
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) last week announced completion of the first flight of its next generation Predator unmanned aircraft, the Predator C Avenger.
The Avenger was first flown on April 4 at the company’s Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., according to a press statement released April 20. Subsequent flights were successfully executed on April 13 and April 14, with the flight test program expected to last through May 30.
The Air Force currently flies the piston-engine MQ-1 Predator, or Predator A model, as well as the turboprop MQ-9 Reaper, or Predator B model. The Army flies a more advanced MQ-1 known as the Sky Warrior.
The Avenger is slightly larger than Predator B, incorporates a pure jet engine (Pratt & Whitney‘s [UTX] PW545B), and can carry the same mix of weapons–at a maximum weight of 3,000 pounds–as Predator B, according to Tom Cassidy, president of GA-ASI Aircraft Systems Group.
Avenger was developed with the intent of building an unmanned aerial system (UAS) that was more survivable in higher threat environments, Cassidy said during an April 22 telephone interview.
“We don’t use the term ‘stealth’ to describe it,” he added. “But it is much more survivable in those high-threat environments.”
The Avenger is also faster than its predecessors. It will be capable of of flying at over 400 KTAS and can operate up to 60,000 feet, according to the company, and will be compatible with the standard GA-ASI Ground Control Stations used to control all Predator-series aircraft.
Cassidy said GA-ASI can begin delivery within 10-12 months. He said the Air Force is the target customer.
Avenger prototypes and flight testing have been fully funded by the company, Cassidy told Defense Daily.
“Just as the first two Predator B aircraft were developed and flown on IRAD [Internal Research and Development] funding because we saw the need for this type of capability, likewise, Avenger was developed through significant company investment,” he said.
While Cassidy would not name a dollar value for the company’s investment in the Avenger program, he did say it amounted to about double what was spent to develop the Predator B. He also pegged the per-unit purchase price of the Avenger at “about $1.5 to $2 million more” per aircraft than the Reaper.
According to Air Force officials, the service is currently purchasing Reapers at a cost of approximately $11.2 million per airframe. Cost for the ground control station is not included in that number.
The Avenger will be equipped with a GA-ASI Lynx Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and various Electro-optical/Infrared (EO/IR) camera systems, the company said in a press statement. A pure reconnaissance version will be capable of carrying a wide-area surveillance system internally for special mission applications.