GA-ASI Avenger with Lockheed Martin Legion Pod autonomously follows target aircraft

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI), on 2 July for the first time, used its Avenger unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a Lockheed Martin Legion Pod modular infrared search-and-track (IRST) system to autonomously track and follow targets of interest.

GA-ASI, on July 2 for the first time, used its Avenger jet-powered UAV equipped with a Lockheed Martin Legion Pod modular IRST system to autonomously track and follow targets of interest. (GA-ASI)

During this industry-funded, 1.4 hour-long demonstration, the Legion Pod's IRST21 system detected multiple fast-moving aircraft and fed target tracking information to the Avenger's autonomy engine, according to a company statement. GA-ASI spokepersonMark Brinkley , said on 17 August that the relative speed between the Avenger and tracked aircraft varied depending on their respective velocities and aspect angles between them. The Legion Pod, he said, was able to track a variety of high-speed jet and low-speed aircraft across a range of low-to-high relative velocities.

The autonomy prioritised the targets informing the Avenger's manoeuvres for target engagement. The Avenger, Brinkley said, determined the probable location of the track and manoeuvred to maintain custody of that track until a different track was selected.

At that point, the jet-propelled Avenger changed course to maintain custody of the newly selected track. Brinkley said the IRST21 detected a variety of tracks that were prioritised based on the detection and tracking algorithms that are part of the IRST21 system.

GA-ASI started an autonomy flight series in December 2020 to demonstrate next-generation air-to-air UAV functionality. According to Brinkley, in 2021 the Avenger has flown over 15 hours with the Legion Pod providing airborne data.