GA-ASI conducts first Avenger-ER flight

[Zarvan]

Predator C Avenger completed its first flight on 27 October. Source: GA-ASI
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has conducted an initial flight of its new MQ-9 Predator C Avenger Extended Range (ER) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the company announced on 10 November.

The flight occurred on 27 October at the company's Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility in Palmdale, California. The aircraft's wingspan of 76 ft and 2,200 lb of additional fuel have extended its endurance by five hours over the baseline variant's 15 hours.

Similar to the legacy Avenger, Avenger ER features avionics based on the MQ-9 Predator/Reaper. However, while Predator C was expected to be a variant of the Predator B with a more powerful engine, an extended development phase was used to redesign the aircraft more extensively. That new design includes reduced radar signature, a larger body, and internal weapons bay and swept, thickened wings that can be folded for carrier basing.

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