General Atomics Reveals New Carrier-Capable Drone
Dubbed Gambit 5 by the company, the new variant leverages from an existing common technology ‘core’ but introduces a strengthened airframe and landing gear to cope with the stresses of assisted launch/arrested recovery, plus integration of a precision landing system. The concept was displayed at last month’s Farnborough international airshow (FIA 2024) event.
Revealed by GA-ASI back in March 2022, Gambit is a suite of high-performance autonomous combat aircraft based on a common ‘chassis’ known as the ‘Gambit Core’. Tailored variants – differentiated by their airframe, wing type, powerplant, signature characteristics, sensor fit and/or weapon payload – leverage from this core to address specific mission sets. This approach implements the ‘genus/species’ concept first developed by the company with the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as part of the Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft Platform Sharing program, and subsequently implemented in US programmes including the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station and the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).