REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (March 25, 2026) – Leaders from the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) hosted a Warrior’s Corner at the annual AUSA Global Force Symposium and Exposition in Huntsville, AL, focusing on accelerating drone dominance through rapid testing and evaluation.
Maj. Gen. Pat Gaydon, commanding general of ATEC, was joined by Col. Joseph Alexander, commander of the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center (RTC), and Col. Brian Sansom, commander of Dugway Proving Ground (DPG), for the presentation that highlighted ATEC test and evaluation capabilities for unmanned aircraft systems, as well as how ATEC is better enabling private industry partners to use its ranges for rapid experimentation and innovation.
"When it comes to drones, all of our test centers have capabilities to test and evaluate different aspects," Gaydon said, noting that drones are arguably the most disruptive technology on the modern battlefield. He emphasized that ATEC is evolving with the Army and the Department of War to maintain relevance in this critical area, implementing "continuous evaluation campaigns."
ATEC is also inviting private industry, academia, and other government agencies to use its national test ranges for testing of drones and other systems across all commodities. These ranges are national assets available for external organizations to support their research, development, test, and evaluation activities. ATEC recently published a SAM.gov notice outlining this critical effort.
"RTC has been testing UAS and drones for a long time," said Alexander. He highlighted the recent development of the UAS Test Range, which offers expedited access for testing.
Sansom pointed out that while Dugway Proving Ground’s core mission is chemical/biological defense, it also offers nearly 8,000 square miles of restricted airspace available to private industry to develop, test, and iterate systems of all kinds, including drones. "It’s about scope and scale we provide to the force," he said. “One of the most remote and isolated ranges in the military right now.”
A video shown during the presentation demonstrated the successful test of a Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft launched from Dugway Proving Ground and controlled by a pilot in an Apache helicopter at Redstone Test Center. The pilot successfully lased a target and fired a missile, showcasing the potential of distributed manned-unmanned teaming.
The key messages from the presentation were clear: ATEC, RTC, and DPG are modernizing their capabilities to support the Army's continuous transformation and drone dominance. They are also streamlining access to Army ranges to better support the internal research and development of industry partners.
Click here to view a recording of the Warrior’s Corner.
To learn more about partnering with ATEC, visit https://atec.army.mil/home/partner-with-us/.
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