CAMP GRAYLING, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Army said Friday that it is opening up test ranges to private companies developing missiles, drones and other weapons in hopes of buying them more quickly for use on the battlefield. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told reporters at a military testing range in Michigan that the effort will cut months and sometimes years of the red tape that typically stifles military contractors. He pledged to grant companies access to ranges in the U.S. or those belonging to allies abroad within 30 days of them making a request through an online marketplace that went live Friday.“It can take 12 to 18 months for a company that wants to go test the thing that can make a soldier’s life better, that can increase their lethality and that can keep them safer,” Driscoll said. “That is not sufficient.”The announcement comes as warfare rapidly changes around the globe, from the swarms of Shahed drones that Iran launched against American forces in the Middle East to Ukraine’s innovations in drone technology while defending against Russia’s invasion. But the Army is also opening its ranges as the Pentagon grapples with the costs of the Iran war, which has diminished the nation’s stockpiles of advanced weapons that sometimes cost millions of dollars for a single missile or interceptor.
US Army opens test ranges to small companies to try to get weapons quicker to the battlefield
The U.S. Army says it’s opening up test ranges to private companies developing missiles and drones. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told The Associated Press that it was driven in part by his observations of the war in Ukraine and how quickly that country has moved to produce new weapon systems.
648 words~3 min read
