GA-ASI’s Long Range UAS Completes Flight Test Series Using pLEO Sats

The Gray Eagle drone, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI), recently progressed through its first round of communication tests using a proliferated low earth orbit (pLEO) satellite constellation with flying colors. The tests were commissioned by the US Army.

The pLEO test campaign began in January 2025 under an Army contract. It began by feeling out purely flight-critical operations, like aircraft control functions and sensor/communications systems. The Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) has completed two flights to date and has several more on the books to experiment with full-flight operations.

The successful test round makes GE-ER the first US Army aircraft to fly using the pLEO satellite service. The UAS is also the only US Army system that is able to use GEO, LEO, and pLEO constellations for communications, navigation, and data organization.

This milestone is crucial as pLEO becomes a more prominent part of defense. Many current military systems orbit further out in medium Earth orbit (MEO) or geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), giving a traditionally reliable source of connection for troops. However, as the digital space continues to crowd with advancing nations, there comes a possibility for disruption to these systems. A pLEO constellation of smaller satellites provides the resilience boost that the military needs.

“The PLEO integration and flight testing continue to show that the current GE-ER open architecture is real,” stated GA-ASI’s Vice President of Army Programs, Don Cattell. “We are practicing rapid integration now which will prove critical to the platform’s survivability and mission success in Multi-Domain Operations.”

The Gray Eagle family was designed with a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), allowing an efficient transfer to pLEO operations. Seeing its potential in action with the GE-ER, GA-ASI has announced that pLEO will be standard capability for its next-generation Gray Eagle 25M. The GE-25M also features improved propulsion, longer-range sensors, anti-jam navigation, and other system upgrades.

FMI: www.ga-asi.com