U.S. Army strengthens Gray Eagle® with new ELINT upgrade

San Diego – 15 April 2026 – The U.S. Army is upgrading its MQ-1C Gray Eagle® Extended Range (ER) with enhanced electronic intelligence capabilities via a contract awarded to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI). ELINT supports long-range sensing for the Integrated Air Defense System (IADS), providing critical information to ground commanders. This capability allows Gray Eagles to operate outside threat ranges while looking deeply into the battlespace and enables advanced manned-unmanned teaming to increase survivability for crewed Army aircraft.

“Combining long-range detection with the range and persistence of the Gray Eagle platforms ensures that commanders always know when an adversary IADS is operating,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “Gray Eagle’s open systems architecture makes this a simple but impactful upgrade.”

The ELINT sensor identifies and geo-locates critical threats vital to Joint Force Operations. To further enhance the Gray Eagle ERs electronic support capabilities, GA-ASI, along with Capability Program Executive Intelligence and Spectrum Warfare, will partner with SNC to integrate advanced radar detection and signal collection technology.

In addition to ELINT, the Gray Eagle ER has also been configured with modernized Communications Intelligence (COMINT), Synthetic Aperture Radar/Moving Target Indicator (SAR/MTI), and Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) radios in multiple Army demonstrations, highlighting the platform’s C5ISR Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) architecture. The aircraft also supports the integration of best-of-breed sensors, payloads, and weapons to rapidly adapt to threats or specific missions.

Gray Eagle ER was featured in the U.S. Army’s Project Convergence Capstone-5 (PCC-5) last year. The multi-mission, multi-sensor Gray Eagle ER performed persistent Detect, Identify, Locate, and Report (DILR) missions in an electronically contested environment, simultaneously providing mesh network aerial tier support to maneuver units and connecting the soldiers and launched effects that might otherwise be obstructed by terrain or be out of range.

PCC-5 demonstrated Gray Eagle ER’s ability to transform contact, fight, and survive capabilities, automating operator input with easy-to-use human-machine interfaces. Resilient to jamming while integrating and cross-cuing ELINT, COMINT, SAR, and Aerial Tier Network Expansion (ATNE), Gray Eagle ER enhanced the survivability of the maneuver forces while supporting the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF).

Photo courtesy GA-ASI