General Atomics Boosts US Army Gray Eagle Drone With New EW Upgrade
The US Army has contracted General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) to add a new electronic warfare system to its MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aerial system (UAS), expanding the aircraft’s ability to detect and disrupt enemy communications and radar.
It uses an open architecture design called the C5ISR Modular Open Suite of Standards, or CMOSS, which lets the service rapidly install and update technology across different systems.
The new equipment is the third electronic warfare package added to the Gray Eagle, joining features for electronic attack, communications relay, counter-UAS operations, and signal gathering.
GA-ASI said the system will work with both the Gray Eagle’s Extended Range and Short Takeoff and Landing configurations.
The firm noted that the army plans to use the improved drone for long-range sensing missions, especially in the Pacific region, where distance and communication range are key challenges.
“Persistent, long-endurance, long-range UAS combined with [electronic warfare] means that US Army division commanders can apply the powerful [electronic warfare] effects of the Gray Eagle to neutralize threats to the maneuver force at a time and location of their choosing,” said GA-ASI President David Alexander.
Partnering With AeroVironment
GA-ASI is working with AeroVironment under the deal to fit the Gray Eagle with the company’s SharkCage Expeditionary C5ISR Chassis, known as ECCv3.
The two companies have been testing open architecture systems on the UAS and its sister airframes since 2024 to improve how autonomous systems share and manage data on the battlefield.
Part of that initiative is the launch of a Switchblade 600 (SB600) loitering munition from a Block 5 MQ-9A drone completed in September at the US Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
“This cooperative effort showcased how combining different unmanned technologies could really provide value and effects to the warfighter,” Alexander commented during the demonstration last month.
“By using MQ-9A to carry the Switchblade, the MQ-9A is able to stand off farther from enemy weapons systems and increase the range of the SB600, which will provide greater access and options in contested airspace.”
