LongShot program eyes new target for early flight tests
WASHINGTON — General Atomics’ LongShot program is aiming to have its first flight test “as early as the end of 2026,” — three years after the company first said tests would begin, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced today.
DARPA views LongShot — an unmanned aircraft system dropped from a bomber or fighter that can launch missiles of its own — as potentially useful for both the Air Force and Navy. Dubbed the X-68A, the aircraft has completed a series of milestone tests and trials bringing the platform “closer to flight testing,” the statement says. The flight tests are set to demonstrate the X-68A’s capability to be launched from an F-15.
The first flight test for the X-68A was originally set to begin in December of 2023, Breaking Defense previously reported. A DARPA spokesperson confirmed to Breaking Defense today that those planned tests did not occur. The new tests appear to be more narrowly focused on the F-15 integration.
“The team pivoted from a multi-stage glider flight plan to a more direct approach focused on a single, fully powered LongShot vehicle,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Breaking Defense. “They also changed course on the launch platform to F-15 integration.”
“LongShot burns down significant technical risk and presents a viable path for the military services to increase air combat reach and effectiveness from uninhabited, air-launched platforms,” said Col. John Casey, the DARPA LongShot program manager, in the press release. “With the help of our partners, we’ve completed critical milestones necessary for the integrated flight test campaign, which will validate vehicle performance and lay the foundation for efficient follow-on development.”
General Atomics was originally chosen alongside Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman for the first phase of the LongShot program in 2021. General Atomics was the only company to move forward to the second phase in March 2022, and remains the only contractor on the project.
General Atomics' LongShot program is set to conduct its first flight test of the X-68A unmanned aircraft system by the end of 2026. This aircraft, designed to launch missiles from an F-15 fighter, has completed key milestone tests. The initial flight tests planned for December 2023 were canceled, and the focus has shifted to integrating the system with the F-15.
- General Atomics' LongShot program aims for first flight test by end of 2026.
- The X-68A unmanned aircraft system can launch missiles from an F-15.
- Flight tests were originally scheduled for December 2023 but did not occur.
- The program has pivoted to focus on F-15 integration.
- General Atomics is the sole contractor moving forward in the LongShot program.