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Indo-Pacific nations in the 21st century face the most complex set of security challenges since the Cold War: competition between great powers, rapidly advancing technology, and historic levels of instability.
In this environment, the ability to operate across the entire spectrum of conflict is paramount—from peacetime operations and policing national borders through periods of tension, crisis, and even kinetic operations.
On today’s battlefield, information is king, and intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting (ISR&T) is the lifeblood of operations. And for the rugged conditions of the Indo-Pacific, an effective ISR&T asset must rise to the challenge.
For most of the past two decades, the U.S. Army has relied on the MQ-1C Gray Eagle®, manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., while operating in some of the most demanding environments on Earth.
With more than 100 extended-range aircraft in the arsenal, this battle-proven aircraft has provided U.S. soldiers with life-saving intelligence, pierced the fog of war, and enabled successful operations.
Today, GA-ASI has evolved Gray Eagle to make it more relevant than ever for operations in the Indo-Pacific region, both with a conventionally operated 25M variant and a Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) version in development.
With these evolutions, Gray Eagle will enable nations to dominate the littorals, resist enemy jamming, resupply under fire, and provide users—including attack helicopters and long-range precision fires—the information they need to conduct distributed manoeuvre operations and take decisive action faster than their adversaries.
Gray Eagle’s Evolution
Gray Eagle Extended Range is a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAS designed to be a rugged and flexible expeditionary tool with a maximum endurance of 42 hours that operates on both traditional jet fuel and heavy diesel fuel.
Already an elite ISR&T asset, Gray Eagle 25M takes the platform to the next level without having customers shoulder the non-recurring costs associated with a clean-sheet design.
25M reduces maintenance hours while significantly improving its ability to perform in contested environments with jam-resistant satellite communications, evolved data links, and navigation not reliant upon GPS.
Gray Eagle 25M also comes with the new Heavy Fuel Engine 2.0, which increases time between overhauls and available power that lets the aircraft persevere through more severe weather and contested battlespaces to provide command and control for other systems.
These aircraft aren’t only premier ISR&T assets; today’s 25M also serves as a truck for carrying launched effects, specialized payloads, and other battlefield effectors without putting personnel at risk in any phase of combat—whatever multi-domain forces need.
Equipped with a long-range synthetic aperture radar and intelligence-gathering systems, Gray Eagle 25M provides pre-conflict intelligence and targeting for long-range fires in the contest and complete phases of large-scale combat operations, both over land or sea.
Greater onboard computing, increased power generation, and a modular, open source architecture enable 25M to handle the processing and energy-intensive demands for payloads that facilitate counter-UAS and air defense artillery early warning for defensive operations. And, as a renowned systems integrator, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., leverages open source architecture to integrate payloads, sensors, and launched effects from other manufacturers.
Manned-Unmanned Teaming: Case Study
Gray Eagle’s capability and versatility make it not only an essential battlefield asset on its own or when teamed with other unmanned aircraft but also a critical enabler for legacy platforms such as attack helicopters.
A new era of broad sensing and integrated anti-air systems means the conflicts of tomorrow will pose widespread new threats to legacy aircraft—especially helicopters. Allied forces can’t afford the losses of machines and especially human crews that could result if helicopters go unescorted.
The answer is manned-unmanned teaming with Gray Eagle. The unmanned aircraft press in ahead of human-crewed attack helicopters to identify threats, including with launched effects that cross deep into enemy territory. Those launched effects can destroy some of the anti-air systems on their own or pinpoint the locations of emitters or launchers for attack by other units. Then a corridor is clear to launch the human-flown air assault.
Gray Eagle’s modular, open source architecture ensures that users aren’t restricted to a specific type of sensor, munition, software, or payload. This flexibility allows the aircraft to support complex air assaults on one mission, return to base, and then redeploy for traditional reconnaissance, search, and target acquisition as allied forces advance in their attack.
Dominating the Littorals: Gray Eagle® STOL
While 25M offers enhancements critical for operations in the Indo-Pacific, another version in development is tailored to support distributed forces in the region’s most rugged environments: Gray Eagle STOL.
Gray Eagle STOL, highly common to its sister aircraft, flies with a modified wing and tail to greatly reduce its ground roll as compared with the current system. While sacrificing some airborne endurance, STOL unlocks a huge new diversity of basing and operational concepts.
Gray Eagle STOL builds on the success of the record-setting General Atomics demonstrator known as Mojave, which has set aviation firsts for medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft with its unimproved and dirt field performance, its naval warship flight operations at sea and, most recently, its first-of-their kind test sorties in which the aircraft destroyed a number of static targets with a pair of Dillon Aero miniguns.
Gray Eagle STOL can assist an expeditionary base deep downrange, co-locating with them as necessary to support missions, including delivery of supplies, with the range to reach from island chain to island chain for units separate from the main body. By operating from a semi-prepared landing zone, a dirt road, or any paved surface, it expands commanders’ options.
