GA-ASI’s Eaglet takes its first flight

General Atomics flew a new survivable Air-Launched Effect (ALE) for the first time as part of a flight demonstration on December 8, 2022. The ALE, known as Eaglet, was launched from a US Army MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (GEER) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The Eaglet flight was jointly funded by GA-ASI and the US Army Combat Capabilities Development (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC).

Eaglet fits into the ‘ALE Large’ category, which encompasses larger, more powerful sensors or payloads. Because of its design, Eaglet is capable of carrying a diverse range of payloads in support of multiple Army missions. Eaglet design extends battlefield options for commanders while reducing their decision cycles. Gray Eagle can carry Eaglet for thousands of kilometers before launching it while being controlled through unmanned-unmanned teaming or as a component of advanced teaming command and control concepts.