GA-ASI produces first EagleEye radar
The EagleEye multi-mode radar will allow operation outside the Weapons Effects Zones of most threat systems. (Photo: GA-ASI)
EagleEye will act as a “drop-in” radar upgrade for US UAS.
The first new EagleEye multi-mode radar came off the production line of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) at the end of June 2024. The high-performance radar delivers high-resolution, photographic-quality imagery through clouds, rain, dust, smoke and fog at several times the range of previous radars, its manufacturer claimed.
EagleEye will be used as a “drop-in” radar enhancement for the Gray Eagle Extended the initial configuration for the new Gray Eagle 25M (GE 25M) UAS. The Army National Guard initially ordered 12 of the Gray Eagle 25M units.
Shephard has forecast that an additional 12 units, 24 in total, will be required at minimum. In January 2023, retired Col. Mike Hadley, vice-president for government affairs for the Army National Guard Association, clarified that 12 units would be “just the start”, as only one Guard division would be equipped with Gray Eagle UAVs out of the “eight” that “urgently need them”.
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Hadley’s hope in 2023 was that the National Guard would end up with an inventory of some 96 units (at a Shephard-projected cost of US$1,175.16 million) seems unlikely to be fulfilled at any time in the short-term future. The 24-unit configuration though, with its likely price tag of $167.88 million, might be possible in the short-to-medium-term future.
Earlier in 2024, GA-ASI announced the development of a new Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antenna and associated software for EagleEye which will increase the radar’s range. Combined with optimised multi-mode performance, the platform will let the aircraft operate significantly outside the Weapons Effects Zone of most threat systems.
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