DECEMBER 3, 2025 – The Army is rapidly integrating layered unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and launched effects in a combined arms fight with fires and maneuver to penetrate, exploit, and defeat near-peer adversaries in a complex environment.
With decades of experience testing new UAS, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) is currently hosting evaluations of the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS), a one-way attack aircraft sponsored by the Marine Corps.
Harkening back to the Liberty Ship production model that rapidly produced thousands of cargo ships during World War II, testers hope that the LUCAS will eventually serve a similar function in the new era of warfare.
“There is a price point that we want to produce a lot of these in a rapid fashion,” said Col. Nicholas Law, Director of Experimentation in the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering. “It’s not a single manufacturer: it’s designed to go to multiple manufacturers to be built in mass quantities.”
The warhead that will eventually be integrated into LUCAS isn’t constructed yet, but it will also be low-cost and mass produced by multiple manufacturers. Evaluators are currently testing LUCAS with inert payloads.
YPG’s vast range and air space is best known for the testing of long-range weapon systems without fear of hitting occupied areas. Yet this vast size also includes nearly 2,000 square miles of restricted airspace. The proving ground seems as close to an ideal venue for UAS testing as can possibly exist: YPG’s unsurpassed capabilities allow for extensive testing without having to compete for runway and airspace with manned fighter jets as at other installations.
“The facility itself gives us the flexibility to do what we need, and at the same time will allow for full-fledged testing when it is ready,” said Law. “We’re getting our baby steps in before we conduct safety certification testing.”
YPG’s clear, stable air and extremely dry climate, along with vast institutional UAS testing knowledge, makes it an attractive location to aviation testers, as does the ability to control a large swath of the radio frequency spectrum. YPG has more than 500 permanent radio frequencies and uses several thousand temporary ones in the typical month and subject matter experts in all facets of replicating electromagnetic environments.
“It really comes down to the flexibility of the airspace: If the system is weaponized, I have the ability to test that here,” said Law. “If it’s not weaponized, I have another large area that is free to maneuver within restricted airspace. It gives us multiple pathways to flight.”
Another critical bonus of testing at YPG is the presence of a wealth of other infrastructure meant for other sectors of YPG’s broad test mission that can be leveraged to support UAS evaluations. YPG is home to things like a wide array of technical and tactical targets, vitally important for UAS testing.
“Once we start weaponization and automated target recognition, we can have a target that is a representation of a real target,” said Law.
The testers are also impressed by the institutional knowledge and dedication to the mission displayed by YPG’s aviation personnel.
“I think it is one of the easier ranges to work with, because of the professionalism of the workforce,” said Law. “As a customer coming in, it is easy to understand the rules and how YPG operates. The capacity and capabilities available here are very impressive.”
Story by Mark Schauer
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground