The U.S. Army announced Friday it is opening its military test ranges to private companies developing missiles, drones and other weapons, cutting a process that used to take more than a year down to 30 days.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll unveiled the change at a testing range in Michigan, telling reporters companies can now request access through a new online marketplace that went live the same day.
“It can take 12 to 18 months for a company that wants to go test the thing that can make a soldier’s life better, that can increase their lethality and that can keep them safer,” Driscoll said, as per reports. “That is not sufficient.”
Driscoll said the 30-day clock starts the moment a company submits a request at testrange.army.mil. Firms do not need an existing federal contract or a prior relationship with the government to apply.
“A company with a good idea shouldn’t need a team of lawyers and a program of record just to prove their equipment works,” Driscoll said.
The Army is opening four stateside locations to industry: Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, West Cibola Range at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center in Mississippi and Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center in Michigan. The service is also working with U.S. Africa Command to provide access to a training area in Morocco.
Companies will be assigned a dedicated “concierge” to help navigate scheduling, according to an Army press release. The first company to use the new pathway, Covenant Industries, already tested its Anthem cruise missile at the Morocco range.
“We demonstrated not only the performance of the Anthem missile but also a repeatable pathway now available to every company,” said Abby Denburg, an executive with Covenant Industries.
Driscoll framed the move as part of a broader push to match the pace of innovation seen on modern battlefields.
“If you look at what is occurring all over the world today, if you look what Ukraine has done so incredibly well, it’s this innovation through necessity,” Driscoll said. “So what we, the Army, are trying to do is break down every single barrier that we have put up over the last 20 and 30 years.”
The change comes as the Pentagon works to rebuild stockpiles of advanced interceptors, including Patriot and THAAD missiles, after the recent conflict with Iran. A Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis found the fight against Iran drew down munitions stocks enough that the U.S. and its Middle Eastern allies could face pressure to take more risks to conserve remaining air defenses.
President Trump told reporters Thursday that “we need more all the time” when asked about munitions supplies, saying some weapons remain in “virtually unlimited supply” while others are “a little bit tighter.” He did not elaborate.
The Army says submitting a request does not guarantee a company its preferred range or date, since space is limited. But the service says its concierge team will work with applicants to find available windows.
