WEBVTT

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(airplane propellers whirring)

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- [Voiceover] It's just after 10 o'clock,

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on a Wednesday morning at Marshall Army Airfield,

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and pilots from Phoenix Company

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are executing a plan that's been in the works for years,

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with the crew breaking new ground

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by flying a Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft

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towards the Smoky Hill Training Area in Salina.

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(airplane engines droning)

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^- The flight today was a momentous occasion for UAS

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^throughout the army,

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^being a designated corridor was created,

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and we were able to fly that corridor.

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- [Voiceover] A corridor that the pilots say

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will support enhanced training for the Big Red One,

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with the Gray Eagles now able

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to give a more detailed look from above,

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for training that occurs near Smoky Hill,

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specifically, that involving AH-64 Apaches,

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aircrafts that work on gunnery techniques in the area.

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A big step, when it comes to aerial operations.

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- It's really moving the way forward

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^for UAS to be opening up international airspace,

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^see small little steps like this are gonna make it

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so that the large leaps and bounds come a lot easier.

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- [Voiceover] But the fact that the Gray Eagles

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can now support manned-unmanned team training,

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isn't the only monumental aspect to this flight.

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This Tuesday marked the first time the path

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had ever been flown successfully in completion,

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a testament to what the Phoenix commander says,

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is the hard work put in by his soldiers every day.

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^- We have some incredible professionals

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^in this organization.

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^I mean this organization is the first Gray Eagle company

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to deploy to combat operations

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and return with zero loss of aircraft,

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and it's through the professionalism

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and the attention to detail of those individual operators,

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their commitment to excellence,

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their development towards pushing that envelope

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in a acceptable manner of mitigating risk.

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- [Voiceover] With the groundbreaking flight behind them,

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the Phoenix pilots say the new training opportunities

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will be the focus, as the group works on tactics

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that could be employed in situations down range.

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- It'll be developing the cohesion

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between the manned and unmanned teaming,

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building up the rapport so as to be able to work with them.

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- The guys in the Apache may not see what we see from above,

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and we can give them direct feedback like

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"Hey, you're a little high, or left, sideways".

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- [Voiceover] And as UAS becomes a bigger part

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of military operations, there's no doubt

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that the Gray Eagle's role with the Big Red One,

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will continue to grow.

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Reporting from Fort Riley, this is Jake Faber.