Impressive as they may be from a capabilities standpoint, many of the military drones currently fielded by the U.S. are not meant to fire machine guns at their targets. Sure, they can drop grenades and launch missiles, but machine guns are a bit trickier to integrate. And yet that's exactly what defense contractor General Atomics did earlier this month at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
The star drone of the achievement is called the Mojave Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and it is basically a derivation of the Gray Eagle 25M, a drone that's been in development since the end of last year. Both are evolutions of the previous MQ-9A Reaper and MQ-1C Gray Eagle, but each brings something unique to the table.
In the case of the Mojave that would be its ability to take off and land from and on short, unimproved sites, including aircraft carriers - the drone is the first of its kind to have achieved this at the end of 2023, when it launched from the British HMS Prince of Wales (R09). It can also use highways, deserts, and even beaches, and that makes it a short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, one that can carry a mighty punch when equipped for warfare.
The drone has been designed in such a way as to be able to carry up to 3,600 pounds (1,633 kg) of cargo, which translated into weaponry means roughly 16 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. A Rolls-Royce turboprop engine that develops 450 shaft horsepower is what keeps the drone moving, and can keep it in the air for up to 24 hours and for distances that can reach 2,900 miles (4,600 km).
During the test conducted earlier in April and only now made public General Atomics fitted the drone with two gun pod systems called DAP-6. Produced by American defense contractor Dillon Aero, the pod is a self-contained M134D-H weapon system intended for use on fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft.
The thing is insanely powerful, as it's capable of releasing 3,000 rounds of 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition per minute, effectively obliterating everything in its path. And that's what the Mojave drone packing these miniguns did in Arizona.
The live-fire test took place on April 13 and was meant to validate the armed drone's battlefield relevance. And judging by what General Atomics is telling us, it all went perfectly.
The Mojave performed two flights with these pods on, releasing during seven passes no less than 10,000 rounds of ammunition at various targets on the ground, including pickup trucks. As the company making the drone says, all targets were shredded during the runs – you can get a sense of how everything went in the video attached below this text.
The drone has been designed to act as an armed reconnaissance platform, electronics warfare hub, and over-the-horizon targeting. The drone has already been selected by the Royal Navy to be fitted on its Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers in the near future.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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