Army building airport just for drones in Texas

[green73]

http://defensesystems.com/articles/2...t-for-uas.aspx

The new airport will host Gray Eagle (above) and Shadow UAS.

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The Army’s ever-growing use of unmanned aerial systems has gotten to the point where two of the most commonly used UAS are getting their own airport.

The service’s Corps of Engineers at Fort Worth, Texas, has awarded a $33 million contract to SGS to build a 150-acre unmanned aircraft launch and recovery complex at Fort Bliss for Grey Eagle and Shadow UAS.

The complex will include a 50,000-square-foot unmanned aircraft maintenance hangar and more than a mile of runways, aprons, and taxiways, according to an announcement from the company. The runways will include a 5,000-foot runway for the Grey Eagle and a 1,000-foot runway for the smaller Shadow. In addition to maintenance shops, administrative space and storage space in the hangar, the facilities also will have a 5-ton bridge crane, oil/water separator, aircraft container and forklift storage, taxiway, access apron, oil and hazardous waste storage buildings, vehicle storage facilities, organizational vehicle parking, and overhead protection/canopy.

The airport will be fenced and secured, and the Army said all operations will take place in restricted airspace.

The Army’s 25-year roadmap for unmanned systems, released in 2010, calls for integrating UAS across the full spectrum of military operations. Fort Bliss, which hosts the 1^st Armored Division and accommodates a variety of ground vehicles, along with Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, will now be adding the Gray Eagle and Shadow.

The Gray Eagle, the Army’s largest UAS, is a long-range, medium altitude system used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, attack, air support, IED detection and destruction, and as a communications hub. Measuring 29 feet long, with a wingspan of just over 56 feet, It can operate for 36 hours at altitudes up to 25,000 feet, with an operating range of 200 nautical miles.

The catapult-launched Shadow is used for ISR, targeting and assessment. It’s just over 11 feet in length, with a wingspan of 14 feet, can fly for up to six hours at altitudes of up to 15,000 feet, giving it a range of 59 nautical miles, and lands by catching an arresting wire attached to disk brake drums.

[presence]

the Army said all operations will take place in restricted airspace

Does that mean its open season if they wander out?

[Dr.3D]

The complex will include a 50,000-square-foot unmanned aircraft maintenance hangar and more than a mile of runways, aprons, and taxiways, according to an announcement from the company.

What good is the aircraft maintenance hanger going to be if it is unmanned?

[FindLiberty]

The MIC is into got-to-have toys that spy, Hunt, Kill and break things.

Training humans to operate those autonomous drones will soon be
unnecessary since they can already take off and land themselves.

After they declare the entire US a restricted air space (once the system
goes on line), boom bahda bing, they gotcha covered.

And like all those HK's from SkyNet (Terminator movie), they'll still need to
have some convenient place to go for all their maintenance and ammo needs.

Everything will be automated. No humans required.

[tangent4ronpaul]

The MIC is into got-to-have toys that spy, Hunt, Kill and break things.

Training humans to operate those autonomous drones will soon be
unnecessary since they can already take off and land themselves.

After they declare the entire US a restricted air space (once the system
goes on line), boom bahda bing, they gotcha covered.

And like all those HK's from SkyNet (Terminator movie), they'll still need to
have some convenient place to go for all their maintenance and ammo needs.

Everything will be automated. No humans required.

Gray Eagle range: 249 miles
Shadow range: 68 miles

-t

[oyarde]

Let me guess , FT Worth .

[Suzanimal]

Let me guess , FT Worth .

El Paso

Y--FY14 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Complex (UAV) located on Fort Bliss Army Military Installation in El Paso, Texas

https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&m...=core&_cview=1