Report outlines Gray Eagle's room for improvement

A US Department of Defense (DoD) report has outlined recommendations to improve the deployment and operation of the US Army's fledgling MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS) capability.

The report from the office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) developed its recommendations based on the Gray Eagle's performance in an Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) held for the Apache Block III helicopter in March through April 2012 at the National Training Center (NTC) in Fort Irwin, California, and a dedicated IOT&E for the Gray Eagle, where the UAS was again based at Edwards.

The March/April activity saw the UAS taking part in the manned/unmanned teaming element of the IOT&E, while the Gray Eagle's own IOT&E was focused on the aircraft's role in an exercise at the NTC where it operated in support of a brigade combat team undertaking a training rotation. There, the unit operated at a range of altitudes and distances, and mission sets included intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and strike with Hellfire missiles; mission success was rated at 73%.