MAGIC
Medium Altitude Global ISR and Communications
CORE programme
USAF programme built around Aurora Orion. Objective: multi-day persistence at 20,000 ft with ≥1,000 lb ISR payload. Executed by 645 AESG / BIG SAFARI. Confirmed programme; MH370 link not established.
MAGIC originated as an OSD/DDR&E Joint Capability Technology Demonstration around FY2010 Q3, then transitioned to Air Force sponsorship in FY2011. Aurora’s Orion was the air vehicle. USAF PB2015 PE 0305205F is the primary source: 120-hour / 20,000 ft / 1,000 lb ISR payload objective; two Joint Urgent Operational Needs; FY2013 $50m Congressional add; first flight 24 August 2013 at China Lake. CENTCOM is recorded as the persistent-ISR sponsor in Aurora’s 2010 release; five Combatant Commands ranked Orion first in the JCTD process. Payload was still being selected as “best of breed” GFE through FY2014. The 2012 NPS business-case thesis modelled MAGIC as long-range ISR, not a named communications-relay payload, and its $510m RDT&E figure is an academic model, not an official acquisition estimate. Treat MAGIC as a confirmed endurance-ISR demonstrator overlapping MH370 in time. Do not treat it as MH370.
Sources
- USAF PB2015 PE 0305205F
- Aurora 2010 MAGIC press (Airframer mirror)
Related
Aurora Orion RPA
Twin-diesel MALE UAS · China Lake first flight 24 Aug 2013
645 AESG / BIG SAFARI
USAF rapid acquisition and special-mission integration
ISIS
Integrated Sensor Is Structure · DARPA/USAF airship radar
Orion first flight, China Lake
24 August 2013 · ~3.5 hours · 8,000 ft · no mission payload
FY2013 Endurance UAV budget jumped via Congressional adds, not a hidden presidential request
What sensors were actually on Orion by March 2014?
MAGIC JCTD initiated
FY2010 Q3 · OSD/DDR&E
Orion 80-hour remotely controlled flight
December 2014 · 1,000 lb ballast · fuel for ~37 more hours
ChatGPT share — MH370 Daily Research
g-p-6aad5907f20881918db0b926fa459fdd · 18 September 2026
Business Case Analysis of MAGIC UAV System
Naval Postgraduate School thesis · public PDF
Gorgon Stare
645 AESG wide-area airborne surveillance for MQ-9
Aurora Flight Sciences
HALE/MALE autonomy house · Orion prime
Broader ISR collection architecture (not “MH370 was Orion”)
Working hypothesis of the Drive research programme
No specific platform/sensor/link yet places MAGIC in the MH370 window
What is the bridge from the ISR environment to MH370?
What were the two MAGIC JUON numbers and the FY2012/13 add sponsors?
Blue Devil, MAGIC, Orion, BIG SAFARI — 2014 window
Briefing collages, 18 September 2026