Courtesy Photo | An AH-64 Apache helicopter launches an Altius 700 Medium-Range Launched Effect (MR-LE)...... read more read more
Subscribe
The Army’s Aviation Future Capability Directorate (A-FCD) conducted activities connected with a Cross Domain Fires (CDF) Concept Focused Warfighting Experiment (CFWE) at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in early March.
The experiment focused on integrating command and control, sensing, targeting and effects delivery as part of Multi-Domain Operations.
The effort was part of a larger distributed test that also saw activity at Fort Sill, Okla., and YPG’s fellow Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) facility White Sands Missile Range. Participating along with A-FCD were multiple private industry vendors and Soldiers from the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Tex.
A key event during the excursion was the successful launch at YPG of an Altius 700 Medium-Range Launched Effect (MR-LE) from an AH-64 Apache helicopter.
Launched effects provide a decisive advantage to ground commanders, giving them the capability to extend the range of sensing and use machines instead of Soldiers to make first contact with an adversary. The Army is rapidly integrating layered UAS and LE across formations in a combined arms fight that is synchronized with fires and maneuver across phases to penetrate, exploit, and defeat near-peer adversaries in a complex environment.
“They accomplished the launches from both a hover and while moving,” said Edgar Castillo, YPG Project Engineer. “Hosting this was really good for us and the Army.”
The proving ground’s clear, stable air and extremely dry climate combined with an ability to control a large swath of the radio frequency spectrum makes it a desired location for the type of testing the CFWE was interested in: testing launched effects, extending network access, and flying autonomous and semi-autonomous systems collaboratively. YPG’s wealth of other infrastructure meant other sectors of the post’s test mission were utilized to support the demonstration, including technical and tactical targets.
"Yuma provides a critical advantage with its expert teams, threat simulators, and instrumentation, especially for aviation," said Col. Bryan Jones, A-FCD Experimentation Division Chief. "To guarantee a system is ready for the field, we have to push its limits in complex, realistic scenarios. The unrestricted environment at Yuma is essential, allowing us to identify and resolve issues early, ensuring we deliver the most reliable and effective capability to our Soldiers."
YPG’s deep institutional knowledge allowed the participating industry partners to run complex tactical test scenarios each day across three weeks of demonstrations, and the event paid dividends that could inform the Army for years to come.
“There are only so many places in the world where you can safely test these weapons,” said Ernad Basic, senior director for research and development at Elbit. “This is the one place where I can get access to the range to fly a Class III UAS and push it to its limit.”
The industry participants also appreciate YPG’s ability to test in a cost-effective way.
“From the get-go, YPG helped facilitate our test,” Josh Higgins, Senior Director for Army Aviation Strategy at Anduril Industries. “My whole team had never had such a tremendous experience like this at a private range or government facility.”
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2026 11:05 |
| Story ID: | 559498 |
| Location: | YUMA PROVING GROUND, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 626 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground hosts Concept Focused Warfighting Experiment, by Mark Schauer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
