As if drones armed with Hellfire anti-tank missiles weren’t deadly enough, now drones are being armed with glide bombs.
An MQ-1C ER Gray Eagle has test-launched a small glide bomb. Like the standoff missiles on a manned aircraft, glide bombs allow the drone to launch their munitions while remaining out of range of enemy anti-aircraft defenses.
The MQ-1C ER, or extended range, is a long-range unmanned aircraft armed with Hellfire missiles. But instead of Hellfires, the Gray Eagle recently launched a GBU-69B Small Glide Munition during an August 21st demonstration.
“The demonstration was conducted at a military test range in California in collaboration with the U.S. Army and Dynetics using a GBU-69B SGM installed onto a GE-ER,” according to an announcement by Gray Eagle manufacturer General Atomics. “When launched from the GE-ER at maximum altitude, the glide weapon can reach extended ranges, which means it can effectively engage threats in a multi-domain operations environment while staying out the engagement zones of threat weapons.”
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