It was evident since the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict that drones will have a major impact
on how modern battles are fought.
This notion has been solidified even more in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Keeping this in view, the US administration plans to send four armed MQ-1C Gray Eagle
drones to Ukraine for the country’s resistance to Russia’s invasion.
The Ukrainian armed forces are using a range of unmanned aerial vehicles against the Russian
military such as the armed Turkish Bayraktar-TB2 and the unarmed AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma AE.
However, the Gray Eagle is at a different level and trumps the drone Ukraine is currently
having by a significant margin when it comes to range, endurance, and weapons payload.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how American-made Gray Eagle drones would give
Ukraine a major boost n capabilities?
Let's get started.
The General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle (previously the Warrior; also called Sky Warrior and ERMP
or Extended-Range Multi-Purpose) is a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system
(UAS).
It was developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) for the United States Army
as an upgrade of the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator.
The U.S. Army initiated the Extended-Range Multi-Purpose UAV competition in 2002, with
the winning aircraft due to replace the RQ-5 Hunter.
Two aircraft were entered, the IAI/Northrop Grumman Hunter II, and the Warrior.
In August 2005, the Army announced the Warrior to be the winner and awarded a $214 million
contract for system development and demonstration.
The Army initially intended to procure eleven Warrior systems, each of these units having
twelve UAVs and five ground control stations.
With an expected total program cost of $1 billion, the aircraft was to enter service
in 2009.
Since, its introduction, the Gray Eagle has seen a lot of upgrades.
For example, US Army announced on 3 September 2010 that the integration of the AGM-114 Hellfire
missile on the UAV had been so successful that 4 weaponized MQ-1Cs would be deployed
to Afghanistan in late 2010.
The Gray Eagle has an increased wingspan and is powered by a Thielert Centurion 1.7 Heavy
Fuel Engine (HFE).
This is a Diesel piston engine that burns jet fuel, giving the aircraft better performance
at high altitudes.
It can operate for 36 hours at altitudes up to 25,000 feet (7,600 m), with an operating
range of 250 miles (400 km).
The aircraft's nose fairing was enlarged to house a synthetic aperture radar/ground moving
target indicator (SAR/GMTI) system, and targeting is also provided with an AN/AAS-52 Multi-spectral
Targeting System (MTS) under the nose.
Its sensors can fuse infrared imagery and use the SAR to scan and detect changes in
terrain like tire tracks, footprints, and buried improvised explosive devices when performing
a second scan.
The aircraft can carry a payload of 800 pounds (360 kg) and may be armed with weapons such
as AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and GBU-44/B Viper Strike guided bombs.
In May 2013, Raytheon delivered two electronic attack payloads as part of the US Army's Networked
Electronic Warfare, Remotely Operated (NERO) system, for jamming enemy communications on
behalf of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO).
Derived from the Communications Electronic Attack Surveillance and Reconnaissance (CEASAR)
system on the C-12 Huron, mounting NERO on the unmanned Gray Eagle gives reduced risk,
reduced operating costs, and two to three times the endurance of electronic attack missions.
Test flights showed that the Gray Eagle could operate with the jammer payload without being
subject to adverse effects.
The Improved Gray Eagle or IGE has a maximum gross takeoff weight of 4,200 lb (1,900 kg)
with its 205 hp engine, compared to the Gray Eagle's 3,600 lb (1,600 kg) MGTOW and 160
hp engine.
General Atomics has added new winglets to increase endurance and allow the addition
of a new vertical antenna.
IGE can carry 850 lb (390 kg) of fuel internally with its deep belly design and 500 lb (230
kg) through its centerline hardpoint.
External fuel tanks can add 450 lb (200 kg) of extra fuel, allowing for a 50-hour endurance.
A special operations configuration can carry two Hellfire missiles and a SIGINT payload
for 35 hours, as opposed to 14–15 hours for the Block 1 Grey Eagle.
Ukraine has used drones effectively.
For example, Bayraktar-TB2 was used to distract Moskav's air defense when it was attacked
by Neptune Missile and sunk and many pinpoint artillery strikes against Russian assets have
been executed with location data received from drones.
It is unclear which variant of the Gray Eagle will be provided by the US but all of these
are technically superior to the present inventory possessed by Ukraine.
Not only in surveillance but also when it comes to conducting land attacks, it has huge
potential.
It remains to be seen how well Ukraine is able to utilize this key American-made asset.