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 AFRL-funded XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) UAV, developed by General Atomics, successfully completed its maiden flight.
This experimental UAV uses a "common core chassis" or "genus" approach, designed for affordable and rapid replication of various aircraft "species."
The innovative design strategy aims to significantly reduce development time and costs, similar to the automotive industry, enabling faster technology refreshment and 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.