Factory upgrades and new radar fit Gray Eagle ER into multi-domain operations
GA-ASI aims to make the Class IV Gray Eagle ER the designated US Army MDO platform for long-range sensors and air-launched effects. (Photo: GA-ASI)
Flight tests and qualification work will begin this year with two factory-upgraded Gray Eagle Extended Range aircraft.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) has continued the development of its modernised MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (ER) UAS with the first factory upgrades and a new radar to support multi-domain operations (MDO).
Installation of factory upgrades began in February 2022 with two Gray Eagle ER aircraft, GA-ASI noted in a 4 April statement, adding that flight tests and qualification work for the US Army ‘will start later this year’.
GA-ASI aims to make the Class IV Gray Eagle ER the designated US Army MDO platform for long-range sensors and air-launched effects (ALEs). The modernised aircraft features an open architecture design, advanced data links and a more powerful 180hp engine.
MDO capabilities of the modernised Gray Eagle have been demonstrated in trials at the Yuma Proving Grounds of long-range sensors, ALEs and control interfaces.
GA-ASI has also introduced the Eagle Eye multimission radar with video-based synthetic aperture for Gray Eagle ER. The company on 5 April described the new radar as a ‘drop-in solution’ for the UAS.
The radar features synthetic aperture, ground/dismount moving target indicator and maritime wide-area search modes.
Eagle Eye is designed to accurately detect, locate and report stationary or mobile targets for MDO with long-range fires provided by 155mm extended-range cannon.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)]()
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
![SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale]()
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions]()
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America]()
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
![Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military]()
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
-
![Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures]()
Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
