Apache helicopter pilots will soon be able to control Grey Eagle UAS directly from the cockpit. The Grey Eagle-Apache command system is undergoing testing and is expected to be ready for demonstration at the Dugway Proving Ground test centre in Utah by September.
Tim Owings, the civilian deputy head of the Army’s UAS development programme, announced on a conference call for bloggers last week that in the near future, Apache helicopter operators “will add command and control” over Grey Eagle UAS. They’ll “be able to see the image and control the aircraft from the cockpit of the Apache.” However, although the Grey Eagle is equipped with four Hellfire missiles, the pilot of the Apache will not be able to fire. A Grey Eagle can be used to help an Apache identify a target, but the helicopter would then have to attack directly.