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Unmanned Systems

Army Initiates Challenge For Short And Vertical Takeoff And Landing Group 4 UAS

By Cal Biesecker

Monday, December 15th, 2025

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Army Initiates Challenge For Short And Vertical Takeoff And Landing Group 4 UAS

General Atomics MQ-1 Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system. Photo: General Atomics

The Army has begun to assess large drones that can take-off and land vertically or use short runways in order to inform industry of the service’s priorities for the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and to explore technologies the Army could offer as modular components for future vendor designs. The Group 4+ UAS Short/Vertical Takeoff and Landing (S/VTOL) Challenge will help the Army with long-endurance drones fielded at the division level to conduct multiple missions, the service said in a notice…

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