US Army Opens Military Test Ranges to Private Defense Companies

In a major policy shift aimed at accelerating military innovation, the U.S. Army has announced that it is opening several key military test ranges to private defense companies. This groundbreaking initiative allows commercial developers and defense startups to request access to specialized testing facilities even if they do not maintain an active, ongoing partnership with the federal government. By lowering bureaucratic barriers, the service hopes to fast-track the deployment of critical combat capabilities directly to warfighters.

Accelerating Defense Technology and UAV Development

The primary driver behind this open-range initiative is the urgent need to speed up the development and rigorous field-testing of unmanned aerial vehicles, counter-drone systems, long-range artillery, and cost-effective interceptors. Historically, smaller tech firms and innovative startups faced immense administrative hurdles, often requiring extensive legal frameworks and formal programs of record just to validate their technologies in realistic environments. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll emphasized that innovative companies with promising defense concepts should not be bogged down by red tape.

Strategic Selection of Domestic and International Test Ranges

The Army is initially launching this streamlined access program across five distinct facilities located both within the United States and abroad. Each facility offers unique environmental and electromagnetic conditions tailored to specific testing requirements:

• Dugway Proving Ground (Utah): Primarily utilized for long-range fires testing and advanced weapon systems.
• West Cibola Range (Arizona): Dedicated specifically to comprehensive drone and counter-drone system assessments.
• Camp Grayling (Michigan): Designated to host specialized electromagnetic unreliability test events simulating electronic warfare conditions observed in Ukraine.
• Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center (Mississippi): Offers joint-force operational training and multi-domain testing environments.
• Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center (Morocco): Provides an international testing footprint in coordination with U.S. Africa Command.

Simulating Modern Battlefield Conditions

Among the most notable offerings is the electronic warfare testing at Camp Grayling, which will replicate contested airspace, degraded signals, and intense signal jamming modeled closely after modern conflict zones like Ukraine. Additionally, the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command has established a centralized digital portal at testrange.army.mil, serving as a single front door where private entities can review range parameters, check available capabilities, and submit testing requests. This strategic pivot aligns with broader Pentagon efforts to overhaul defense acquisition, streamline supply chains, and rapidly integrate commercial technologies to address emerging global threats.

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