{"id":18633,"date":"2017-08-17T14:02:49","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T14:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/17\/general-atomics-targets-first-big-international-avenger-drone-sale\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:41:11","slug":"general-atomics-targets-first-big-international-avenger-drone-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2017\/08\/17\/general-atomics-targets-first-big-international-avenger-drone-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"General Atomics targets first big international Avenger drone sale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

POWAY, Calif. \u2014 Fewer than a dozen Avenger drones have been purchased since the product first flew in 2009, but General Atomics believes it may be able to sell about 90 aircraft in the next few years to a single international buyer, its president said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Atomics has struggled to find a major customer for the Avenger, also called the Predator C, since the collapse of the U.S. Air Force\u2019s MQ-X program and the U.S. Navy\u2019s UCLASS program, both of which sought out UAVs that could survive contested environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But speaking to reporters on Aug. 16, GA president David Alexander said the company was engaged with an unnamed foreign nation on a potential Avenger purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA quantity of 90. It would be a big program,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Walker, senior director of strategic development, added that \u201ca lot of work\u201d needs to be done to refine the requirements and that details were still being ironed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although GA officials would not spell out which country is interested in the UAV, signs point to India. In April 2016, Reuters reported <\/a>that India\u2019s Air Force had inquired about the potential procurement of up to 100 Predator Cs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if India, if it is the unnamed country interested in the Avenger, decides to press on with the sale \u2014 which is especially uncertain given the country\u2019s fondness for rapidly changing weapons acquisition plans \u2014 it is unclear whether the United States would agree to export the armed UAVs. Unmanned aircraft are currently subject to the Missile Technology Control Regime, which spells out a \u201cpresumption of denial\u201d for Category I systems like the Avenger.<\/p>\n\n\n\t