ER/MP Gray Eagle: Enhanced MQ-1C Predators for the Army

ER/MP, armed (click to view full) Its initial battles were fought within the Pentagon, but the US Army’s high-end UAV has made its transition to the battlefield. The ER/MP program was part of the US Army’s reinvestment of dollars from the canceled RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program, and directly supports the Army’s Aviation Modernization Plan. The US Air Force saw this Predator derivative as a threat and tried to destroy it, but the program survived the first big “Key West” battle of the 21st century. Now, the MQ-1C “Gray Eagle” is in production as the US Army’s high-end UAV. As CENTCOM’s wars end, however, the Gray Eagle may find that staying in the fleet is as hard as getting there. This FOCUS article offers a program history, key statistics and budget figures, and ongoing coverage of the program’s contracts and milestones. The MQ-1C Gray Eagle, and its Band of Brothers Predator landing (click to view full) With General Atomics MQ-1A/B Predators, MQ-1C Gray Eagles, and MQ-9 Reaper UAVs all headed for the skies above the conflict zone, our readers have asked us to help them tell the difference. It’s clear that all 3 share a design philosophy, but their capabilities diverge […]