
The U.S. Army plans to begin flight testing the new Improved Gray Eagle (IGE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) “before Christmas,” a service official said Oct. 5.The IGE is a derivative of the Army’s existing Gray Eagle, built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI). IGE will carry more fuel and have more engine horsepower than Gray Eagle, providing increased endurance, said Col. Courtney Cote, the Army’s UAS project manager. IGE is also supposed to offer more payload capacity, easier maintenance…