General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has unveiled the newest member of its family of unmanned aerial systems dubbed the Gambit.
As explained by the company, the name was inspired by the chess opening move, which is about “initiative, leading from the front, and using advanced sensing to grab the tactical advantage.”
Gambit is an “autonomous collaborative platform” (ACP) designed through digital engineering to speed its time to market and lower acquisition cost, GA-ASI said.
The jet-powered platform is being built for air dominance and will heavily leverage advances in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. Working alongside human-piloted aircraft, Gambit will enable pilots to see deeper into hostile airspace, detect threats first, and provide time and space for critical decisions and actions.
While the company did not explicitly confirm, the new UAS could be related to the US Air Force’s Off Board Sensing Station (OBSS) program, for which both Kratos and GA-ASI received $17.7 million contracts in October 2021.
“GA-ASI has led the way in integrating UAS into every aspect of military operations,” said GA-ASI president David R. Alexander. “Now we’re once again pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with unmanned aircraft, software, mission systems integration and more. Gambit will usher in a new era, where UAS work collaboratively with manned aircraft to detect, identify and target adversaries at range and scale across the battlespace.”
Designed as an advanced concept aircraft, Gambit will use AI and autonomy to complete a variety of tasks without being prompted by an operator. On point out ahead of US Air Force tactical aircraft, Gambit will also be able to sense and track targets of interest, and distribute that information across the battlespace, the company explains.
GA-ASI unveiled Gambit several months after introducing the Mojave armed overwatch UAS capable of operating from aircraft carriers.
