U.S. Army Gray Eagle Drones To Receive New Electronic Warfare Capabilities
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. announced on October 13 that the U.S. Army has awarded it a new contract to add a C5ISR Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS)-compliant open architecture electronic warfare capability onto the MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system operated by the Army. The company did not provide details on the duration or value of the contract.
According to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, this will be the third electronic warfare capability that has been integrated into the CMOSS “chassis”, “showing how quickly and easily new plug-and-play capabilities can be integrated into the Gray Eagle platform”. Other capabilities recently added to the Gray Eagle through the CMOSS chassis include electronic attack, communications relay functionality, counter-unmanned aerial system capabilities, and signals intelligence.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems will collaborate with AeroVironment, Inc. to integrate the latter company’s SharkCage Expeditionary C5ISR Chassis (ECCv3) onto the Gray Eagle as part of this contract, with GA-ASI having jointly demonstrated a range of capabilities on the Gray Eagle open architecture chassis with AeroVironment since 2024.
GA-ASI says integration of the new electronic warfare capability is streamlined by the Gray Eagle’s Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA), which leverages previous operational demonstrations and exercises applicable to the Gray Eagle Extended Range and Gray Eagle Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) variants.
According to the company, integration of this electronic warfare capability “signals a major step forward in the ability to conduct deep sensing in the Pacific while increasing the survivability and lethality of the Gray Eagle at distances relevant in the INDOPACOM (Indo-Pacific Command) Area of Responsibility”.
“Persistent, long-endurance, long-range UAS combined with EW means that the U.S. Army division commanders can apply the powerful EW 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 R. Alexander.