The US Army’s Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system recently completed a successful initial operational testing and evaluation at the Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.

During the initial operational testing and evaluation ( IOT&E) the Gray Eagle platform was operated from the Edwards Air Force Base, California, and employed in an operational and realistic way in support of a brigade combat team rotation at NTC, explained John Moltenberry, military test plans analyst, US Army Operational Test Command, Army Test and Evaluation Command.

The basic thrust of the IOT&E is to assess the degree to which a given platform or technology meets its designated requirements, typically as a way to inform anticipated fullrate production decisions, he said.

Operators can control the Gray Eagle through the use of satellite communications–which allow for “beyond-line-of-sight” missions — or through tactical common data link line-of-sight signals, Moltenberry explained.

Timothy Baxter, the project manager for unmanned aircraft system, UAS, said the IOT&E verified that the Gray Eagle platform was effective, operationally suitable and meeting survivability and force protection key performance parameters. He also added that the beyond low-rate-initial-production report included a handful of worthwhile recommendations.