The gMAV is a precursor technology to the FCS program’s Class I Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) that will be fielded to Infantry Brigade Combat Teams starting in 2011. The Class I UAV is currently under evualation by soldiers of the Army’s Evaluation Task Force at Fort Bliss, Texas. The gMAV is man packable and provides a hover and stare capability not currently present in either Army or Air Force UAV inventories. The UAV’s sensor platform can take still and video imagery, which provides key intelligence for precision targeting and surveillance operations. The 56th Stryker Brigade will replace elements of the 2/25th Stryker Brigade who have used the gMAV for reconnaissance and convoy protection operations while deployed to Iraq and participated in extensive gMAV testing and evaluation experiments prior to that.
The gMAV started life as a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency initiative but battlefield needs, as stressed by a Joint Operational Needs Statement endorsed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2006, helped put the gMAV in the hands of soldiers deployed to Iraq. The gMAV has also been successfully used in theater by the Navy as part of a joint task force ordnance explosive disposal unit. Starting in early December, 10 Guardsmen from 56th Stryker Brigade will be trained during a course on gMAV fundamentals and field use. Once deployed, these soldiers will then be responsible for training gMAV operators. The 56th Stryker Brigade will use 15 gMAVs for reconnaissance and other protection operations. Due to their mission, it is expected that the National Guard Soldiers will find different ways to use the gMAV in theater. Future Combat Systems is the cornerstone of the Army’s modernization efforts, consisting of a family of new combat vehicles, unmanned aerial and ground systems and unattended ground sensors and munitions all connected by a state-of-the-art network. (Photo courtesy of Honeywell.)
