US Army Yuma Proving Ground’s Test Center (YPG) has been designated as the primary, dedicated interagency counter-small uncrewed aerial system (C-sUAS) test and training range. The designation means that YPG will primarily focus on Class I and II small UAS, while larger Class III through V systems will continue to primarily be tested at White Sands Missile Range, YPG’s larger sister installation.
YPG includes nearly 2,000 square miles of restricted airspace, with a dry climate, making the post ideal for aviation testing. The site has also hosted semiannual industry demonstrations of the latest C-sUAS technology for most of the current decade.
“We anticipate a pretty significant increase in workload,” said Ross Gwynn, YPG Technical Director. “As industry is asked to demonstrate capabilities that will solve gaps for the military, we’re going to see industry partners and contractors that want to come out and get opportunities to test their systems in restricted airspace.”
The US Army’s Rapid-Equipping Force was the first to test counter-drone technology at YPG in 2015. Since then, numerous instrumentation and test methodologies have been developed in-house along with analytical processes to determine how these systems are performing. The designation is expected to speed up this process and focus these test efforts in a single location. James Amato, Executive Technical Director for the Army Test and Evaluation Command, said however that the workload will likely be so great that the Army will continue to use multiple test centres.
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Image: US Army photo at Yuma Proving Ground
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