Role & capabilities
- Multirole aircraft
- Automatic runway take-off and landing
- EO/IR and SAR/GMTI radar options
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Multirole aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
- Origin / production countries
- United States
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- Gray Eagle baseline; Gray Eagle ER; Gray Eagle 25M
- Operators / programme customers
- US Army
Evidence & current status
The cited public record documents military use or operator acceptance. Specifications still depend on the particular production version and mission configuration.
Role & programme
A US Army remotely piloted aircraft family for reconnaissance, communications relay and armed missions. The original Gray Eagle, ER and 25M configurations have different specifications.
The table uses the original Gray Eagle product page as its baseline. The 25M modernisation made its first flight on 5 December 2023, according to the manufacturer announcement issued the following January. That milestone establishes a development aircraft and should not be read as a fleet-wide upgrade date. The later short-takeoff demonstrators also need to be distinguished from the conventional runway aircraft.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Fixed-wing remotely piloted aircraft | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Automatic runway take-off and landing | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | 165 hp heavy-fuel piston engine | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | 17 m span; 9 m length | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Mass | 1,633 kg maximum take-off mass | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | 25 h (original Gray Eagle) | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Range | Not established from the reviewed sources. | Public data gap; no estimate substituted. Follow the source for subsequent releases. Source ↗ |
| Speed | 167 KTAS maximum | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | 29,000 ft | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Payload | 488 kg combined internal/external payload | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | EO/IR and SAR/GMTI radar options | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Line-of-sight and satellite links; communications-relay role | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Gray Eagle 25M first flight
Manufacturer-reported first flight; announcement issued January 2024.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Expanded catalogue profile with sourced specifications, variant distinctions, programme evidence and explicit public data gaps.
Suggest a correction to this entry →
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Manufacturer product information (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme source
- Manufacturer product information (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme source