Army opens test ranges to startups to fast-track battlefield weapons

The U.S. Army has launched a program to open its test ranges to private companies developing missiles, drones, and other weapon systems, in a bid to accelerate the procurement process for battlefield use. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll announced the initiative at Camp Grayling, a military testing facility in Michigan, on Friday.

Under the new system, companies can request access to Army ranges in the U.S. or at allied facilities abroad through an online marketplace that went live the same day. Driscoll said the Army will grant approved requests within 30 days, a sharp contrast to the 12 to 18 months that firms often wait under traditional contracting procedures.

"It can take 12 to 18 months for a company that wants to go test the thing that can make a soldier's life better, that can increase their lethality and that can keep them safer," Driscoll said. "That is not sufficient."

The move comes as modern warfare evolves rapidly, with drone swarms and other low-cost technologies reshaping conflict. The Pentagon is also under pressure to replenish stockpiles of advanced interceptors, which have been depleted during recent operations in the Middle East. A think tank analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted that the conflict with Iran has consumed significant quantities of Patriot and THAAD missiles, potentially forcing the U.S. and its allies to take greater risks to conserve air defenses.

President Donald Trump acknowledged the strain on Thursday, saying "we need more all the time," while claiming some munitions are in "virtually unlimited supply" and others are "a little bit tighter." He did not provide specifics. Driscoll declined to comment on stockpile levels, asserting that the U.S. has "a larger arsenal than any nation in the history of the world."

The first company to use the new program, Covenant Industries, tested its Anthem cruise missile at an Army range in Morocco. Abby Denburg, an executive at the firm, said the test "demonstrated not only the performance of the Anthem missile but also a repeatable pathway now available to every company."

The program allows drone and missile makers without existing military contracts to use five Army ranges for testing new rockets, drones, and counter-drone systems. Driscoll framed the initiative as an effort to "break down every single barrier that we have put up over the last 20 or 30 years," inviting industry to "get in the mud with our soldiers."