Work is on schedule to open the Army’s new $15 million Gray Eagle UAS Training Centre at Fort Huachuca within a year. The installation is near Sierra Vista in South East Arizona, 15 miles from the Mexico border. The announcement was made last week by Brigadier General Gregg Potter, who commands the Intelligence Centre of Excellence and Fort Huachuca.
He made his comments at a dinner of the Fort Huachuca 50, an organization which for the past 23 years has supported the post and its importance to the area’s economy. Noting that the Secretary of Defence wants more unmanned Gray Eagles, the general believes that this confirms the viability of the post, where much of the training on those airframes is accomplished, reports the Sierra Vista Herald
In 2001, about 8,500 students were trained on the fort or by teams travelling to other installations and this year, the number will be about 20,000. The fort is providing housing and other support services for the Army National Guard, which was activated by the federal government to support the Border Patrol.
The post is the only place in the United States which as nearly 1,000 square miles of restricted airspace in which manned and unmanned aircraft can fly at the same time.