FORT HOOD -
The Gray Eagle unmanned aerial system completed its first daytime flight this morning. Today marks the day they have completed one hundred hours of flight time at Fort Hood.
The army is hoping this tool will assist them with monitoring deployments outside of the United States.
The commander for the 21st Cavalry Brigade spoke to News Channel 25's Markeya Thomas about the goal for UAS air vehicles.
"I think it provides more capability to soldiers on the ground, to give them better awareness of the battlefield," explains Colonel Niel Hersey. "And inform commanders so they can make wise decisions on whether to take action or not to take action on something."
Soldiers in the 21st Cavalry Brigade were selected in September, but the first UAS flight did not take off until January 30. They have been taking time to train the soldiers for when they have to deploy the Gray Eagle.
"We are doing training. We are training soldiers on how to operate and employ the system so they can be prepared for combat," said Col. Hersey.
Previously, the Gray Eagle has only been flown at night, but will start to be seen during the day. Col. Hersey says local residents should not be alarmed by the aircraft because it will not be doing any surveillance in the United States. It is only flying around the Fort Hood area for training purposes.
