Army building drones-only airport near Texas border

Two of the U.S. Army's most-used unmanned aerial vehicles, or "drones," will soon have their own exclusive airport near the Texas-Mexico border. Scroll through to see how drones — and the debate surrounding their use — have evolved through the years. less Two of the U.S. Army's most-used unmanned aerial vehicles, or "drones," will soon have their own exclusive airport near the Texas-Mexico border. Scroll through to see how drones — and the debate ... more Photo: Getty Images, General Atomics/Getty Images Photo: Getty Images, General Atomics/Getty Images Image 1 of / 69 Caption Close Army building drones-only airport near Texas border 1 / 69 Back to Gallery

Two of the U.S. Army's most-used unmanned aerial vehicles, or "drones," will soon have their own exclusive airport near the Texas-Mexico border.

The service's Corps of Engineers at Fort Worth awarded a $33 million contract to SGS on Dec. 5 to build a 150-acre unmanned aircraft launch and recovery complex at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Defense Systems reported.

The airport will house the drones Gray Eagle and Shadow and include a 50,000-square-foot unmanned aircraft maintenance hangar and more than a mile of runways, aprons, and taxiways, according to a contract available on FBO.gov.

The complex will also include "associated maintenance shops, administrative space, storage space, 5-ton bridge crane, oil/water separator, aircraft container and forklift storage, UAV runway, taxiway, access apron, oil and hazardous waste storage buildings, vehicle storage facilities, organizational vehicle parking and overhead protection/canopy."

The Gray Eagle is the Army's largest UAS, according to Defense Systems, and is used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, attack, air support and IED detection and destruction. The catapult-launched Shadow is used for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, targeting and assessment.

jfechter@mysa.com

Twitter: @JFreports