General Atomics Avenger The General Atomics Avenger ( formerly Predator C ) is a developmental unmanned combat air vehicle built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for the United States military . Its first flight occurred on 4 April 2009 . Unlike the previous MQ - 1 Predator and MQ - 9 Reaper ( Predator B ) drones , the Avenger is powered by a turbofan engine , and its design includes stealth features such as internal weapons storage , and an S - shaped exhaust for reduced heat and radar signature . The Avenger will support the same weapons as the MQ - 9 , and carry the Lynx synthetic aperture radar and a version of the F - 35 Lightning II ' s electro - optical targeting system ( EOTS ) , called the Advanced Low - observable Embedded Reconnaissance Targeting ( ALERT ) system . The Avenger will use the same ground support infrastructure as the MQ - 1 and MQ - 9 , including the ground control station and existing communications networks . Operational history . Flight testing . The first flight of the first prototype Avenger occurred on April 4 , 2009 at the company ’ s Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility in Palmdale , California . The aircraft took off and landed without any discrepancies and was ready to fly again once refueled . Following flights were performed successfully on April 13 and 14 . The second prototype Avenger performed its first flight on January 12 , 2012 , meeting all performance objectives and refining the first prototype design to an operational capability . The Tail 2 prototype featured a four foot longer fuselage to accommodate larger payloads and more fuel . This larger Avenger can carry a larger payload of up to 3 , 500 lb of weapons internally and its wing hard points . A third and fourth model are being produced , with Tail 3 expected to fly by late summer 2012 and Tail 4 by early 2013 . On February 15 , 2012 , the Air Force cancelled its MQ - X program , which was supposed to find an aircraft to replace the MQ - 9 Reaper . The funds will be invested in developing technology to analyze the data already generated by its UAVs and upgrading current Reapers . The Sea Avenger variant is part of the Navy ' s Unmanned Carrier - Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike system ( UCLASS ) program . If it is selected by the Navy , the Air Force may consider buying the ground - based version for service . On November 15 , 2012 , the Avenger flew for three hours while being controlled by the General Atomics Advanced Cockpit Ground Control Station ( GCS ) . The Advanced Cockpit GCS has a wrap - around visual display and multi - dimensional moving map to increase situational awareness and reduce pilot workload . The Advanced Cockpit GCS has flown an MQ - 1 Predator and is planned to fly an MQ - 9 Reaper as part of an Air Force initiative to enable interoperability with all USAF Remote Piloted Aircraft ( RPA ) . Deployment to Afghanistan . In December 2011 , the Air Force announced that it had ordered an Avenger and that it was being deployed to Afghanistan . " This aircraft will be used as a test asset and will provide a significantly increased weapons and sensors payload capacity on an aircraft that will be able to fly to targets much more rapidly than the MQ - 9 [ Reaper ] UAS , " the USAF said in an announcement . " Since it has an internal weapons bay and four hardpoints on each wing it will also allow greater flexibility and will accommodate a large selection of next generation sensor and weapons payloads . " The aircraft ordered was the original Tail 1 prototype version . This announcement sparked rumors that the aircraft was being deployed to monitor neighboring Iran and Pakistan . These allegations were made because the Avenger is stealthy , while the battlespace over Afghanistan is free of radar guided missiles , as well as any other anti - aircraft weapons . The announcement also came two weeks after the Iran - US RQ - 170 incident . The Air Force responded by clarifying that the purchase was initiated in July of that year , well before the incident . Export . General Atomics has offered the Predator C Avenger to Canada as a contender for its Joint Unmanned Surveillance and Target Acquisition System ( JUSTAS ) armed UAV project . Variants . Sea Avenger . On 3 May 2010 , General Atomics Aeronautical Systems , Inc . ( GA - ASI ) introduced Sea Avenger , a carrier - based derivative of the Predator C Avenger UAS , intended to fulfill the U . S . Navy ’ s need for an Unmanned Carrier - Launched Surveillance and Strike program ( UCLASS ) . The company formally proposed Sea Avenger to the Naval Air Systems Command via a request for information submitted on 30 April 2010 . The Sea Avenger includes a retractable electro - optical / infrared sensor , internal weapons bay , and folding wings . The aircraft ’ s structure was designed with the flexibility to accommodate carrier suitable landing gear , tailhook , drag devices , and other provisions for carrier operations . On February 15 , 2011 , General Atomics announced that they had successfully completed a key wind tunnel test on a model of the Sea Avenger . The goal of the test was to validate the low - speed characteristics of an updated wing in the approach , launch , and cruise configurations . The advanced design utilizes proprietary wing technology that enables high - speed flight , while also supporting excellent low - speed handling qualities desired for aircraft carrier landings . The tests took 90 hours and were performed over eight days , which were completed ahead of schedule . The wind tunnel test validated the low - speed characteristics of a new wing , resulting in higher endurance and lower approach speeds . The new wing is also designed to increase aircraft dash speeds , decreasing the time to respond to potential threats . On 14 August 2013 , General Atomics was awarded a $ 15 million contract to develop the airframe of their UCLASS entry . Contracts of the same amount were awarded to Boeing , Lockheed Martin , and Northrop Grumman for their competing designs . A competition for a final airframe design is expected after January 2014 .