General Atomics unveils XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station UAV

The GA-ASI XQ-67A OBSS in a hangar at an undisclosed location. (GA-ASI)

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) unveiled a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS), on 8 February.

“[GA-ASI] is very excited to introduce the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station to the world for the first time,” the company said in a statement.

“Without getting into specifics … we are stepping through that programme methodically and working closely with our government partners to hit all of the markers for the project and deliver on our promises. We're focused on speed to ramp, accelerated design processes, and bringing true capability to the fight,” the statement continued.

Little is publicly known about the aircraft. Although the GA-ASI statement refers to ‘unmanned combat air vehicles', it is unclear whether the XQ-67A is capable of carrying weapons. A video released on GA-ASI social media platforms displayed the UAV taxiing rapidly, but it is publicly unknown whether the aircraft has yet flown or where testing is occurring.

“We're looking forward to getting into the deep details about the airplane very soon,” GA-ASI said.

The reveal follows the February 2023 announcement that the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) had selected GA-ASI to build, test, and fly the UAV for the OBSS programme, intended to build a UAV capable of flying ahead of and passing data back to manned aircraft.