General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. identifies as the "world leader in unmanned aerial systems." They serve as a private subsidiary of General Atomics with a focus on aerospace and defense technologies, such as remotely piloted aircraft, control and communications devices, and radar systems. The company was founded in 1993 and led by James Neal Blue as the Chairman-CEO and Thomas J. Cassidy as the president. The company is responsible for the General Atomics Altus I and Altus II, unmanned aerial research vehicles used by NASA in the late 1990s to test long-duration, high-altitude flights. In July 1999, Altus II flew for more than four hours at 55,000 feet. In 2002, it was used as an airborne platform for the Altus Cumulus Electrification Study that gathered data on thunderstorm life cycles to help meteorologists better predict when storms may occur. The company is also responsible for the MQ series of unmanned combat aerial vehicles used by the United States Air Force, including the MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper, and MQ-20 Avenger. In January 2018, the Avenger Extended Range variant achieved 23.4 continuous hours of flight.
Inducted in 2023.
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