Jay Clemens
General Atomics’ aeronautical systems business completed the maiden flight of an Avenger Extended Range remotely piloted aircraft Oct. 27 at the company’s Gray Butte flight operations facility in Palmdale, California.
The Avenger ER aircraft is a variant of General Atomics’ jet-powered Predator C Avenger and designed to have a 76-foot wingspan and fuel capacity of 2,200 pounds, the company said Thursday.
GA-ASI Linden Blue said the company developed Avenger ER to provide situational awareness and strike mission support to customers.
The drone incorporates avionics system similar to that of the Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper and carries a 44-foot long fuselage and 3,000-pound payload bay.
Avenger ERÂ is built to carry payloads such as the GA-ASI Lynx multi-mode radar, the MS-177 electro-optical/infrared sensor and the Joint Direct Attack Munition.
