U.S. Army opens drone test ranges: private firms can apply without a contract

The U.S. Army said today that it has launched a new drone-testing portal, testrange.army.mil. Private companies can use it to request access to military ranges even if they don’t already hold a contract.

The Army says companies can apply through a single site and get help from a real person. Approval still depends on range availability, the kind of system they want to test, and safety requirements, so there’s no promise of a specific site or a set timeline.

The program opens with Dugway Proving Ground in Utah for long-range fires and precision-strike work, West Cibola Range in Arizona for drone and counter-drone testing, Camp Shelby in Mississippi, Camp Grayling in Michigan, and Morocco’s Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center. The Army says Camp Grayling is slated for quarterly tests starting in September 2026 under degraded electromagnetic conditions similar to Ukraine, including jamming and signal disruption.

If you build drone or counter-drone systems, this probably deserves a look. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll says it removes a major obstacle for smaller innovators, and it lines up with a broader Pentagon push to move faster, centered on Joint Interagency Task Force 401, a new buyer-supplier marketplace, battlefield demand made plain by Ukraine and by concerns over Patriot interceptor stockpiles after Iran, and SkyFoundry’s goal of producing at least 1 million drones in the next two to three years.

You can apply now at testrange.army.mil.