Grand Forks Facility Expands MQ-9 Remote Operations as Autonomous Aircraft Advance

The future of military aviation is expected to combine crewed aircraft with increasingly capable autonomous systems, according to Patrick “Mike” Shortsleeve, vice president for strategic development at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. Speaking at the University of North Dakota’s “UND LEADS: Broad Perspectives on National Security” series on Nov. 5, 2026, Shortsleeve said that over the next 20 to 30 years, aircraft operating from military airfields will include substantial unmanned capabilities. He also emphasized that human involvement will remain necessary. For government customers and industry, this describes a long-range direction for airpower and mission systems rather than a near-term procurement announcement.

Shortsleeve characterized the next stage of unmanned aviation as the “merger of manned and unmanned working together,” referring to collaborative combat aircraft. University of North Dakota President Andrew Armacost added that collaboration may extend beyond human-machine teaming: “The name of collaborative combat aircraft seems to indicate that there’s not just collaboration between machine and human, but machine and machine.” Taken together, the remarks highlight a future operating environment in which aircraft, autonomous platforms, and human operators may need to coordinate across missions. Contractors tracking this market can assess how their capabilities align with autonomy, integration, command and control, and operator oversight, while treating these comments as strategic context rather than an agency requirement.

A tangible local development accompanies the broader outlook. On Oct. 30, **General Atomics** and **U.S. Sen. John Hoeven** marked completion of the company’s Remote Split Operations facility at **GrandSky**, an aviation park west of **Grand Forks, North Dakota**. The facility contains two ground control stations that crews will use to operate the company’s **MQ-9 Reaper** aircraft. The report says those crews will support missions conducted through **United States Africa Command**, whose area of responsibility includes almost all of the African continent. The facility indicates existing operational capacity in the region, but the article does not disclose a new government contract, the facility’s cost, a funding commitment, or a competitive acquisition connected to its completion.

Shortsleeve also placed the MQ-9 in the evolution of remotely piloted aircraft, looking back to the MQ-1 and describing it as the “canary in the coal mine about how warfare is changing.” He pointed to persistence, target tracking, and the ability to engage when necessary without placing a human aboard the aircraft as features that altered operational possibilities. For procurement professionals, the combination of this historical perspective, the GrandSky control infrastructure, and the long-term collaborative-aircraft outlook is useful for market monitoring and capability planning. It does not establish an acquisition path: no solicitation, award amount, procurement contact, or timeline is provided. Industry should distinguish demonstrated operational infrastructure and executive-level market commentary from a competed opportunity or formal government commitment.

• General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. completed a Remote Split Operations facility at GrandSky on Oct. 30, 2026.
• The facility has two ground control stations for crews operating MQ-9 Reaper aircraft.
• The reported crews will support missions through United States Africa Command, whose area includes almost all of Africa.
• Shortsleeve described a 20–30-year outlook for crewed aircraft operating alongside increasingly capable autonomous systems, with humans still needed.
• Collaborative combat aircraft may involve coordination between human operators and machines, as well as machine-to-machine collaboration, according to Andrew Armacost.
• Shortsleeve cited the MQ-1’s persistence, target-tracking, and engagement capabilities as indicators of changing warfare.
• GrandSky, west of Grand Forks, North Dakota, is identified as an aviation park where General Atomics is an “anchor tenant.”
• The report provides no solicitation, contract award, funding amount, acquisition timeline, or procurement contact; treat it as a market-direction signal, not an active opportunity.