General Atomics XQ-67A UAV Makes First Flight

The Air Force Research Laboratory-funded drone project aims to cut costs by building several aircraft variants from a common core chassis.

Kimberly Johnson

Tuesday, March 05, 2024 at 04:08 PM ET

Verified

AFRL’s XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station, or OBSS, designed and built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., took its maiden flight February 28 from Gray Butte Field Airport near Palmdale, California. [Courtesy: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.]

Key Takeaways:

The experimental XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) UAV, funded by the AFRL and developed by General Atomics, successfully completed its maiden flight.
The XQ-67A utilizes a "common core chassis" or "genus" approach, enabling rapid and affordable replication of various aircraft variants ("species") from a shared foundational design.
This innovative manufacturing method is designed to significantly reduce development time and costs, allow for faster technology refreshes, and facilitate the production of affordable combat mass.

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An experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and designed with a common chassis to be affordable and rapidly replicated has taken its first flight.

The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.’s (GA-ASI) XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) made its maiden flight last week from Gray Butte Field Airport near Palmdale, California, where it completed several tests.