General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is a military contractor and subsidiary of General Atomics that designs and manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles and radar systems for the U.S. military and commercial applications worldwide.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Aerospace and defense
Headquarters	Poway, California, U.S.[1]
Parent	General Atomics
Website	www.ga-asi.com

Grey Butte Field, outside El Mirage, California, is used by General Atomics as an operational testing facility for their Predator drones.^[2]

The Predator UAV

Operations

In November 2021, GA-ASI received a $103.2 million contract from the U.S. Army and a $31.7 million contract from the U.S. Navy on behalf of Belgium.^[3]

On December 9, 2021, GA-ASI unveiled the General Atomics Mojave drone.^[4]

On February 1, 2023, GA-ASI along with partner Maritime Applied Physics Corporation won a Phase 1 research contract on DARPA's Liberty Lifter project.^[5][6]

On March 6, 2023, the company announced that DARPA has chosen GA-ASI to carry out the design of the air-launched drone through Critical Design Review (CDR); a LongShot would itself carry an AMRAAM or Sidewinder missile, which greatly extends their range.^[7] In this way, an F-15EX or similar 4th-generation fighter can greatly increase its survivability when armed with a LongShot.^[7]

On April 11, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China announced a sanction on the company due to its arms sales to Taiwan.

In May 2024, General Atomics lost its bid for the DARPA Liberty Lifter program, with the contract being awarded to Aurora Flight Sciences.^[8]

On March 4, 2025, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce placed 15 U.S. entities (including General Atomics Aeronautical Systems) on its export control list, barring the export of dual-use commodities to that business.^[9][10]

Products

• General Atomics Gnat
• General Atomics Prowler
• General Atomics Altus
• General Atomics MQ-1 Predator
• General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle
• General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper
• General Atomics MQ-9B Guardian
• General Atomics MQ-20 Avenger

Projects in active Development

• General Atomics Eaglet parasite UAS,^[11] prototype stage
• General Atomics LongShot loyal-wingman type UAS,^[12] concept stage
• General Atomics Mojave STOL UCAV, derived from the Predator Family, prototype stage
• General Atomics Sparrowhawk parasite UAS, prototype stage
• General Atomics XQ-67A^[13] - (perspective Gambit series) First flight on 28 February 2024^[14][15][16]
• General Atomics YFQ-42A^[17] - (perspective Gambit series)