Arizona Guard Gets First Gray Eagle 25M Squadron

The modernized drone brings nearly 40-hour endurance and open architecture to the Army National Guard—one state at a time.

By The Defense Desk

The Arizona Army National Guard will become the first state unit to field the Gray Eagle 25M, with eight aircraft expected by September 2027 and four more by the end of 2029. [1][2]

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and the Arizona Army National Guard met over the summer to finalize plans, with the announcement made on 12 October 2026. [2] The federal government awarded General Atomics a $389 million contract to develop the system in December 2023—the same month the aircraft made its first flight. [1]

The "M" in Gray Eagle 25M stands for "modernized": the aircraft runs on an open architecture design, advanced datalinks, and a newer propulsion system, giving it greater payload capacity and longer flight time than its predecessor. [1] Its nearly 40-hour endurance and EagleEye® multi-mode radar come standard, with options for additional payloads. [2]

Arizona sits within the Army National Guard's 40th Infantry Division. The Guard's broader objective is one Divisional UAS Company for each of its eight infantry divisions; Congress has currently funded three Gray Eagle 25M units. [1][2] Once fully operational, it will become the only UAS in the ARNG's arsenal. [2]

State-level forces acquiring persistent, long-endurance drones signals a structural shift in how domestic readiness and global reach are being wired together—unit by unit, division by division.

According to General Atomics, the Gray Eagle 25M's nearly 40-hour endurance and significant payload capacity combined with its open architecture to add sensor, network, kinetic and non-kinetic effects potentially enables the Army National Guard to be an asset for Golden Dome missions. [2]