A small unmanned aircraft powered by brushless direct current motors assembled at Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania set a new flight endurance record of eight hours, 41 minutes and 43 seconds, the Army said. The aircraft flew during the Game of Drones 26-2 demonstration at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on July 15-17, traveling approximately 300 miles before landing and exceeding the previous record by 50 minutes.
The demonstration marked the first major outdoor operational test of the Tobyhanna-assembled motors on an active aircraft. The achievement highlighted rapid, collaborative manufacturing at the Army's organic industrial base—the military's own manufacturing facilities—as the Army works to establish domestic supply chains for critical defense technologies.
The drone was designed in less than 10 minutes using computer prompts and adaptability software. Within 24 hours of takeoff, the aircraft was fabricated inside a mobile containerized production factory using commercial 3D printers, integrated with the Tobyhanna motors and batteries supplied by an industry partner, then assembled on-site by a three-person team.
The Army Materiel Command has begun transforming its organic industrial base to produce critical small unmanned aircraft components, including frames at Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center in Illinois and batteries at Red River Army Depot in Texas. The effort aims to eliminate foreign dependencies for critical parts and support the Defense Contract Management Agency's blue list—a portal of compliant, cybersecure, and U.S.-manufactured unmanned systems and components. The performance data from the record flight has been submitted to Guinness Book of World Records for verification.