General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) recently conducted the first flight of the Gray Eagle (GE) 25M UAS, the latest variant of the drone that features an updated engine and advanced avionics capabilities.
The first flight milestone, announced on Thursday, was achieved just days after the Army awarded GA-ASI a production contract for Gray Eagle 25M worth up to $389 million in early December.
GA-ASI first detailed the Gray Eagle 25M in October 2022, and said the new variant is designed to be “Multi-Domain Operations-capable” and would incorporate a Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) approach to allow for rapid integration of new capabilities, advanced datalinks and an upgraded propulsion system.
“GE-25M incorporates MOSA across the aircraft and ground system architectures, which enables rapid integration of advanced payloads and communication equipment, along with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities,” Don Cattell, the company’s vice president of Army programs, said at the time. “This will reduce the sensor-to-shooter timelines, while simultaneously reducing the datalink bandwidth requirements in a contested environment, thus increasing range and resiliency.”
The Army contract awarded on Dec. 1 for production of Gray Eagle 25Ms is undefinitized, GA-ASI noted, while adding the modernized drones will support active duty and National Guard units and is “expected to be in service for the Army into the 2050’s.”
“In an MDO environment, soldiers need the aircraft to operate with increased reliability along with reduced manning and equipment, which is why GE-25M significantly reduces the maintenance required on the aircraft,” David Alexander, president of GA-ASI, said in a statement on Thursday.
GA-ASI has previously said it began upgrading the first two Extended Range Gray Eagle UAS to the new 25M variants in early 2022.
The first flight test of the Gray Eagle 25M was conducted on Dec. 5 at GA-ASI’s facility in El Mirage, California, with the event focused on testing flight critical operations and assessing the new variant’s Heavy Fuel Engine (HFE) 2.0 engine and power generation systems.
The company said Gray Eagle 25M’s power generation system was designed in coordination with the Army’s Project Manager Endurance Uncrewed Aircraft System (PM EUAS), which it added will decrease “major maintenance actions and virtually eliminates the need for overhaul.”
GA-ASI added the demonstration also assessed the Gray Eagle 25M’s upgraded flight computer capability, which it said features “5X more processing capacity and 80X more data storage” to enable “processing at the edge, as well as meeting the demand for increased automation and autonomy.”
“GE-25M’s more powerful generators combined with advanced avionics enable the aircraft to function as a Multi-Domain Operations ‘truck’ with the ability to utilize a variety of advanced multi-intelligence sensors, launched effects, and electronic warfare pod,” the company said in a statement. “GA-ASI is teamed with PM EUAS to deliver a government-owned, government-controlled open architecture that will enable plug and play capabilities, ensuring the platform can adapt to changing threats in the future.”