Article Summary – In October 2025, an F-22 pilot directly controlled an MQ-20 Avenger drone, a headline-grabbing first for manned–unmanned teaming.
-But the conceptual roots go back to the 1970s HiMAT program, a little-known NASA–Air Force effort that used remotely piloted X-planes to push maneuverability, digital fly-by-wire controls, and composite structures far beyond what was safe for human pilots.
-HiMAT’s odd-looking, cockpit-less design proved that highly unstable, high-agility aircraft could be mastered by software and remote crews.
-Today’s loyal wingman concepts, open-architecture links, and distributed control from a single fighter cockpit all echo the experiments HiMAT flew half a century ago.
HiMat: How A 1970s Drone Program Shaped Today’s Manned-Unmanned Teaming Tech
In October, an F-22 Raptor pilot took direct control of an unmanned drone wingman from his cockpit – a first for the U.S. Air Force and a concrete step into the new era of manned-unmanned teaming.
What made the milestone particularly interesting – aside from the fact that it is a proof of concept and the clear direction in which global air powers are now headed – was that it echoed research that began nearly fifty years ago under the HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology) program.
Though its bizarre shape made it look like a futuristic and unrealistic oddity, HiMAT pioneered many of the technologies that now underpin modern fighter design and autonomous teaming.
What HiMAT Was
The HiMAT program was intended to develop and test new technologies for next-generation fighter aircraft.
From mid-1979 through January 1983, two remotely-piloted research vehicles were built and flown at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center as part of the program.
And because the vehicles were uncrewed, engineers were able to push maneuverability and flight risks way beyond was feasible with a human pilot onboard. It was one of the earliest proof-of-concepts for unmanned aviation, and proved just how far the technology could, in theory, go.
HiMAT’s objectives went beyond developing aircraft capable of such high speeds; however, they also included developing aircraft that could travel at such high speeds.
The programs’ objectives included exploring new composite structures and materials, digital (fly-by-wire) flight controls, close-coupled canard-wing arrangements, and other design features intended to increase maneuverability and agility dramatically.
The program officially began in 1975, when NASA’s Ames Research Center and the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory awarded a contract to Rockwell International (later part of Boeing) to build two remotely piloted research vehicles.
Each HiMAT aircraft was about half the size of an F-16 Fighting Falcon.
Yet it could achieve roughly twice its turning performance in sustained high-G maneuvers thanks to its unique, experimental design.
HiMAT’s flights were valuable in multiple ways as well. Not only did they prove that these kinds of high-agility vehicles were possible, but they also provided direct aerodynamic data, validated composite wing structures and designs when under high-load conditions, and allowed engineers and developers to perfect algorithms and better understand how to control these new, unstable aircraft technologies.
The data that they obtained from these experimental flights ultimately proved highly valuable in the development of later production fighters.
For those who know about HiMAT, its design stands out most.
It was a skillful piece of experimental craft, but its appearance was surprising. It featured forward canards, sharply swept wings, and an oddly small fuselage, since it didn’t need room for a human cockpit.
Without the constraints of a human pilot on board, designers were able to remove the cockpit and all its associated systems, making the internal layout much simpler and optimized purely for maneuvering and performance.
The program isn’t the best-known period of American aviation history, but it was important. It ultimately concluded after 26 flights, but its impact proved broader than those limited runway hours might suggest.
HiMAT ultimately demonstrated that complete digital control was possible and that high-agility design was feasible even before today’s advanced automation, artificial intelligence, and software technologies.
It also proved that composite materials could withstand extreme maneuverability and that unmanned or remotely piloted platforms would become the future of aerospace innovation.
How HiMAT Influenced Today
On October 21 2025, the U.S. Air Force achieved a major milestone when a pilot of an F-22 Raptor controlled an unmanned MQ-20 Avenger drone from the fighter’s cockpit at the Nevada Test and Training Range.
The fighter and drone were connected via radios and open-architecture datalinks, which enabled real-time command and control from the single-seat cockpit.
The mission proved that the F-22 could be used as a platform for manned-unmanned teaming, in preparation for the USAF’s upcoming Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. This was an early example of “loyal wingman” drones not only flying alongside traditional manned aircraft, but being controlled directly by pilots when necessary.
F-22 Raptor Firing Flares. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
And there’s a direct connection to HiMAT through the underlying research ethos that brought us here. HiMAT’s digital control systems, remote-pilot architecture and systems, and even the composite structures and high-agility maneuver profile all contributed to the eventual design of these wingman drones.
They influenced how future fighters would be designed, sure, but more specifically, how supporting platforms like drones would function.
In the recent F-22 test, rather than just piloting one aircraft, the pilot was able to extend his situational awareness and command to a second unmanned asset – and that shift from single-platform piloting to distributed command mirrors the original intent of HiMAT.
It also proves that the concept works and will soon expand to multiple supporting assets. In the near future, the United States Air Force will use swarms of these drones alongside traditional manned assets to reduce risk, increase range and lethality, and pave the way to an entirely new form of aerial warfare.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
More Military
The YF-23 Black Widow II Stealth Fighter Almost Made the Ultimate Comeback
The New Leopard 2A8 Tank Has a Message for the Russian Army
The F-22J Raptor Stealth Fighter Will Never Fly For Japan (China Is Smiling)
