U.S. Army Designates Michigan All-Domain Warfighting Center as National Drone Training Range.

The U.S. Army on February 10, 2026, designated Michigan’s National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) as a national range for uncrewed aerial systems training. The move strengthens the Army’s drone and counter-drone modernization push at a time when lessons from recent high-intensity conflicts are reshaping force design and procurement priorities.

The U.S. Army announced on February 10, 2026, that Michigan’s National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) has been formally designated a national range for uncrewed aerial systems training, a step endorsed by both the Army and the National Guard Bureau. The decision elevates the site into a central node for operational testing, large-scale integration, and high-tempo training of advanced drone and counter-drone capabilities.
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U.S. Army Specialist Elija Kirkland, assigned to 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery Regiment, operates an uncrewed aerial system in support of a cannon battery mission during Exercise Northern Strike 24-2 at Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center, Michigan. (Picture source: U.S. Army)

U.S. Officials said the designation reflects accelerating demand for realistic environments where units can experiment with layered air defense, electronic warfare, and autonomous systems under operational conditions. As recent conflicts have underscored the decisive role of small and medium UAS on the battlefield, the Army is moving to institutionalize drone warfare expertise across active and reserve components.

With nearly 200,000 acres of maneuver space at Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and more than 17,000 square miles of special-use military airspace at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, the NADWC offers one of the most expansive joint training environments east of the Mississippi River. The complex combines ground maneuver corridors, restricted airspace, and electromagnetic spectrum access, enabling realistic experimentation with reconnaissance drones, loitering munitions, swarm systems, and counter-UAS defenses in integrated, combined-arms scenarios.

The U.S. Army’s decision reflects a structural evolution in how drones are perceived in land warfare. Two decades ago, UAS in U.S. service were largely theater-level intelligence assets such as the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, focused on surveillance and precision strike in counterinsurgency operations. Small tactical drones existed, but they were often limited to reconnaissance roles at the battalion level. Today, uncrewed systems are embedded at every echelon, from squad-carried quadcopters providing immediate situational awareness to long-endurance platforms supporting division-level targeting and electronic warfare.

Recent conflicts have accelerated this transformation. Large-scale combat operations in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have demonstrated that low-cost drones, rapidly modified and fielded in mass, can reshape artillery duels, expose armored formations, and saturate air defenses. Swarm attacks, first-person view strike drones, and loitering munitions have become routine features of the battlefield. At the same time, counter-UAS has emerged as an urgent requirement, forcing armies to develop layered defenses combining electronic attack, kinetic interceptors, directed energy systems, and advanced sensors.

For the U.S. Army, these developments have translated into concrete modernization lines. The Short Range Reconnaissance program, the RQ-28A Ghost, and emerging loitering munition systems are being integrated into brigade combat teams under the Army Transformation initiative. Simultaneously, mobile counter-UAS systems are being fielded to protect maneuver formations from aerial threats once considered marginal. The challenge now is not merely procurement, but realistic integration under operational stress.

This is where the NADWC (National All-Domain Warfighting Center) designation carries strategic weight. The ability to conduct live-fire exercises that incorporate drone swarms, electronic jamming, GPS-denied navigation, and multi-domain targeting within a single controlled environment is critical. Michigan’s four-season climate causes cold-weather degradation in batteries, sensors, and propulsion systems, providing data that southern ranges cannot replicate. Dense forests, open maneuver areas, and variable weather conditions create a spectrum of tactical scenarios approximating multiple theaters of operation.

Equally significant is the center’s access to electromagnetic spectrum operations. Modern drone warfare is not solely about airframes and payloads. It is a contest of signals, bandwidth, encryption, and resilience against jamming. Training units to operate in contested-spectrum conditions require space, regulatory flexibility, and technical infrastructure. NADWC provides a rare combination of scale and permissive operating authorities, enabling realistic testing of anti-jam datalinks, autonomous navigation algorithms, and counter-swarm electronic defenses.

As the largest joint training range east of the Mississippi River and host of the Northern Strike exercise, the NADWC also supports multinational interoperability. Allied forces training in Michigan can test encrypted communications compatibility, swarm deconfliction procedures, and joint fires coordination involving uncrewed platforms. In an era where NATO’s eastern flank remains under pressure, such integration is no longer theoretical. It is preparation for potential high-intensity contingencies.

From a defense industry perspective, the national range designation is likely to attract U.S. drone manufacturers, electronic warfare firms, and defense primes seeking operational validation of new systems. Michigan’s established manufacturing base and growing aerospace ecosystem provide a bridge between industrial production and field experimentation. Prototypes can transition more rapidly from concept to large-scale operational trials, shortening development cycles at a time when technological adaptation is measured in months rather than years.

As a defense journalist observing the trajectory of U.S. Army modernization, I see the NADWC designation as more than a geographic or administrative milestone. It reflects institutional recognition that drone warfare is no longer a supporting capability but a defining feature of contemporary combat. The Army is adapting from a force that once relied on air superiority and centralized ISR platforms to one that must contend with dense aerial threat environments and exploit distributed, networked uncrewed systems at every level.

The wars of the early 2020s have shown that even technologically advanced armies can be surprised by the speed and scale of the proliferation of uncrewed systems. Cheap commercial components, rapid battlefield innovation, and decentralized tactical experimentation have narrowed the technological gap between state and non-state actors. Establishing a national-scale UAS training center is therefore not simply about capability development. It is about institutional resilience and doctrinal adaptation.

By consolidating drone experimentation, training, and integration at the National All-Domain Warfighting Center, the U.S. Army is signaling that the future battlefield will be saturated, contested, and digitally interconnected. Preparing for that reality demands more than procurement budgets. It requires expansive training environments where soldiers can fail, adapt, and refine tactics before facing a peer adversary.

In that context, Michigan’s NADWC becomes a strategic asset for the entire force. The forests and airspace over Camp Grayling and Alpena are poised to shape how American soldiers fight in an era defined by uncrewed systems, electronic warfare, and multi-domain competition.

Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.