Jerry Petersen
The aeronautics business of General Atomics plans to put forward a modified version of its MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system to address the U.S. Army’s requirement for an armed scout aircraft, Breaking Defense reported Friday.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. head Dave Alexander made the revelation in a recent interview, saying, “We’re trying to jump into that [opportunity].”
The Army had originally sought a manned helicopter for its armed scout requirement under the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program but has since switched tracks to unmanned platforms following what Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George described in February as learnings “from the battlefield — especially Ukraine.”
The Gray Eagle variant that GA-ASI intends to pitch will share features possessed by Mojave, a demonstrator platform where capabilities are tested for incorporation into future products, according to C. Mark Brinkley, a spokesperson for General Atomics.
Unlike the base model of the MQ-1C, Mojave can carry twice as many Hellfire missiles and is capable of performing short take-offs and landings.
Brinkley also noted that during a recent test at Yuma Proving Grounds, Mojave used miniguns mounted on its wings to take out ground targets, marking a first for the platform, which is typically armed with precision-guided missiles.
