EVX-10 Sky Badger: Kinetic Training Where Other Systems Can’t Fly

Operational System | In Production

Sky Badger is the only ABSI aerial target purpose-built for towed aerial target operations — enabling safe, repeatable kinetic counter-UAS training in regulated airspace environments where direct engagement of unmanned aircraft is restricted. One durable tow platform. Unlimited ITAT engagements. No airspace restrictions on the target.

The Training Problem

Some Ranges Have Rules. Your Training Doesn’t Have to Stop.

Kinetic counter-UAS training requires a target that can be shot. The problem is that many training environments — controlled airspace, law enforcement ranges, critical infrastructure protection exercises, and joint training events with airspace restrictions — prohibit the direct engagement of unmanned aircraft systems.

That restriction doesn’t mean kinetic training is impossible. It means the target has to be separated from the aircraft.

Sky Badger solves this by towing the ABSI ITAT — an inert, disposable aerial target shape — beneath the aircraft. Operators engage and destroy the ITAT. The Sky Badger flies home. No aircraft is expended. No airspace regulation is violated. No training rep is skipped.

And because Sky Badger is the durable asset and ITAT is the low-cost consumable, a single tow platform can support hundreds of kinetic engagements across a training program — at a per-rep cost that makes high-frequency training practical for any budget.

There is a further dimension to this problem. Many programs that established towed aerial target capability using commercial quadcopter platforms as tow vehicles are now navigating federal procurement restrictions that limit or prohibit their continued use. Sky Badger provides the compliant path forward — purpose-built, U.S.-manufactured, and available in both NDAA-compliant and C-UAS training-optimized configurations — so programs replacing restricted commercial tow platforms can do so without rebuilding their training architecture.

Sky Badger is also the threat. The weaponized commercial quadcopter — adapted to carry and drop explosive payloads — is one of the most documented UAS threats in modern conflict, and one of the most challenging to train against. Sky Badger replicates it. Your operators need to train against both problems.

WHAT SKY BADGER IS

Purpose-Built for Towed Targets. Capable of Much More.

The EVX-10 Sky Badger is a fully productized, U.S.-manufactured aerial target platform engineered as the purpose-built tow platform for the ABSI ITAT system. Where other systems in the ABSI portfolio present themselves as the target, Sky Badger presents the target, enabling the kinetic training rep without putting an unmanned aircraft system in the engagement envelope.

Beyond towed target operations, Sky Badger supports a flexible payload architecture, accommodating instrumentation, telemetry, sensors, and mission-specific configurations. This makes it the most versatile platform in the ABSI portfolio for test and evaluation requirements that go beyond pure threat replication, including C-UAS system validation, sensor integration testing, and custom mission profiles.

Unlike modified commercial platforms with limited integration capability, Sky Badger is purpose-built and U.S.-manufactured, designed from the ground up for compliant, mission-adaptable aerial target operations across both training and test environments.

Sky Badger replicates the weaponized commercial quadcopter — the payload-carrying threat class that first appeared in Iraq and Syria’s drone program in Iraq and Syria, and that now defines close-range offensive UAS employment on the modern battlefield. Purpose-built with excess lift capacity from the outset, Sky Badger supports two battery configurations: extended-range batteries for endurance-focused operations retaining a useable payload capacity, and shorter-endurance batteries that return increased payload capacity for mission specific sensors, light kits, and instrumented configurations. That engineered excess lift is what separates Sky Badger from every other quadcopter in the ABSI portfolio — and what makes it the right platform for programs that need both the tow capability and authentic payload-quadcopter threat replication.

NDAA-compliant variants will run ABSI’s own U.S.-manufactured flight controller upon its production release this summer — addressing the single most constrained component in domestic drone manufacturing. Remaining avionics components are sourced from NDAA-compliant supply chains, with a full ABSI-developed avionics stack on the roadmap.

Key Capabilities

Towed Aerial Target Operations
Purpose-built to tow the ABSI ITAT in regulated airspace environments where direct engagement of unmanned aircraft is restricted. The only system in the ABSI portfolio with this capability.
One-to-Many Training Economics
One Sky Badger tow platform supports unlimited sequential ITAT engagements. Procure a small durable tow fleet; scale ITAT inventory to match training tempo. Cost per kinetic rep drops dramatically vs. expending an operational UAS per engagement.
Modular Payload Architecture
Accommodates instrumentation, telemetry, sensors, and mission-specific payloads, supporting test and evaluation requirements that go beyond threat replication
Multi-Mission Utility
Replicates the weaponized commercial quadcopter — the payload-carrying threat documented from Mosul to eastern Ukraine — while also serving as a tow platform and instrumented payload testbed. One airframe. Three distinct operational roles. Excess lift capacity engineered in from the outset.
Two Procurement Configurations
Available in NDAA-compliant variant for standard DoD procurement, and C-UAS training-optimized variant under the Section 817 FY2023 NDAA exemption for maximum training flexibility.

System Specifications

Primary Role	Tow platform for ABSI ITAT towed aerial target system
Secondary Roles	Configurable aerial target, payload integration testbed
Tow Capability	ABSI ITAT — supports unlimited sequential presentations per sortie
Payload Architecture	Modular — accommodates instrumentation, telemetry, sensors, mission payloads
Flight Profile	Stable, repeatable — optimized for consistent towed target presentation
Deployment	Rapid field deployment, supports repeated sorties
NDAA-Compliant Variant	Supply chain validated for NDAA compliance. Standard DoD procurement — no exception-to-policy required.
C-UAS Training Variant	Authentic adversary component set — including authentic RF emissions from the commercial quadcopter components used in operational employment. Procured under Section 817, FY2023 NDAA exemption for C-UAS surrogate testing and training.
Flight Controller	ABSI-designed, U.S.-manufactured — the most supply chain-constrained component in NDAA-compliant drone production, now resolved in-house. Transition to ABSI controller upon production release, summer 2026.
Other Avionics	ESCs and GPS sourced from NDAA-compliant supply chains. Full ABSI-developed avionics stack on the roadmap.

Detailed performance parameters, system configurations, and integration options are tailored to mission requirements. Contact our team to discuss how Sky Badger can support your specific test, training, or evaluation objectives.

Use Cases - Applications

Primary

Kinetic engagement training using towed ITAT in regulated airspace environments
High-volume, repeatable live-fire C-UAS training at scale
Payload and sensor integration testing for C-UAS system validation
Training in environments where direct engagement of unmanned aircraft is restricted

Secondary

Law enforcement and DHS counter-drone training
Mission-specific test and evaluation scenarios requiring configurable payloads
Multi-system coordinated training events within the ABSI GCS ecosystem

ABSI AERIAL TARGETS ECOSYSTEM

One control system. Every threat class. Seamless training at scale.

Sky Badger is the towed target, payload integration, and weaponized commercial quadcopter threat replication layer within the ABSI aerial target ecosystem — the system that makes kinetic training possible in environments where every other platform in the portfolio cannot be directly engaged. All ABSI systems operate within a common GCS architecture, enabling coordinated multi-system training scenarios that combine Sky Badger’s towed target operations with the full range of ABSI threat replication capabilities.

Acquisition Pathway

In Production. Available Now.

Sky Badger is available to U.S. government customers, prime contractors, and authorized partners through the Defense Logistics Agency’s Special Operational Equipment Tailored Logistic Support (DLA SOE/TLS) program, GSA schedules, and direct contracting pathways.

Available in both NDAA-compliant and C-UAS training-optimized configurations. Your acquisition pathway determines your configuration — not your vendor.

Not sure which configuration fits your program?

The C-UAS training-optimized variant is available under Section 817 of the FY2023 NDAA — a statutory exemption that gives counter-UAS training programs explicit authority to procure authentic adversary component systems without standard NDAA supply chain restrictions. Many federal buyers are not aware this authority exists. Contact ABSI and we’ll walk your team through the pathway.

Train Without Constraints. Adapt to the Mission.

Sky Badger gives you kinetic training “reps and sets” — in the environments where other systems can’t operate, at the volume your training program demands.