Improved Gray Eagle Flies With SIGINT Pod and Hellfire Missiles

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems solutions, today announced the successful second endurance flight of the U.S. Army's Improved Gray Eagle® (IGE) prototype Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), an advanced derivative of the mission-proven Gray Eagle UAS that has accumulated over 100,000 flight hours since 2008.

The flight of IGE lasted 36.7 hours, taking off on January 17 and landing on January 19 at the company's El Mirage Flight Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif.

"Improved Gray Eagle is a significant capability leap forward, providing for longer UAS endurance, enhanced payload carriage, and increased reliability", said Frank W. Pace, president, Aircraft Systems, GA-ASI. "We are pleased that this long-endurance flight was executed seamlessly, with all objectives met."

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