The US Army is opening up its training centers for private firms to test out new drones

Private drone companies can now request access to US Army testing ranges Companies no longer need existing government partnerships before requesting range access Five military facilities across America and Morocco are joining the programme Private drone companies without existing government contracts can now request access to the US Army test ranges nationwide.

The arrangement removes a requirement for companies to have existing government partnerships before requesting access to military ranges.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll framed the change as an effort to cut through bureaucratic obstacles facing smaller defense contractors.

What companies can access and where Five ranges now fall under this new access system, spanning four US states and one overseas location.

Dugway Proving Ground in Utah specializes in long-range fires testing for companies developing precision strike capabilities, whilst West Cibola Range in Arizona currently focuses exclusively on drone and counter-drone system evaluations.

Camp Shelby in Mississippi and Camp Grayling in Michigan round out the domestic testing locations available.

The fifth site, the Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center, sits in Morocco.

Beginning in September 2026, Camp Grayling will host a recurring test simulating degraded electromagnetic conditions found in Ukraine.

This quarterly event will let companies trial drone and counter-drone systems against jamming and disrupted signals.

To get access to any of these sites, companies will have to apply through testrange.army.mil, though the Army cannot guarantee a specific site or timeline.

"A company with a good idea shouldn't need a team of lawyers and a program of record just to prove their equipment works," said Dan Driscoll, Army Secretary.

"So we fixed that.

One front door — testrange.army.mil — a real person to walk you in, and on the other side, everything the modern battlefield demands: contested airspace, degraded signals and the space to test at real scale." The pressure driving this shift The expanded access reflects urgency inside the Pentagon around accelerating drone and counter-drone development timelines.

The Defense Department recently formed Joint Interagency Task Force 401, a unit built to streamline counter-drone procurement.