U.S. Army Tests C100X Drone to Sharpen Troops for Modern Battlefield Threats.

The U.S. Army is testing the Performance Drone Works C100X to give troops more realistic exposure to the surveillance and payload-delivery threats increasingly shaping modern combat. During flight trials at Fort Indiantown Gap on September 25, 2026, the Emerging Threat Replication Program evaluated how the drone could reproduce battlefield effects that soldiers may encounter against increasingly capable unmanned systems.

The C100X was tested with inert training munitions and thermal systems, allowing exercises to simulate both drone-delivered payloads and surveillance beyond daylight conditions. The Army National Guard has not disclosed test results or confirmed adoption, but the evaluation highlights a broader effort to prepare troops for battlefields where small drones increasingly combine reconnaissance, targeting and strike roles.

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The U.S. Army tested the PDW C100X drone at Fort Indiantown Gap with thermal systems and inert training munitions to evaluate its potential for replicating modern battlefield threats during troop training (Picture Source: U.S. National Guard)

On September 25, 2026, members of the Emerging Threat Replication Program conducted flight testing of a Performance Drone Works C100X unmanned aircraft system at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. The activity evaluated the aircraft’s capabilities, including the employment of inert training munitions, thermal systems and its potential integration into future military training scenarios. As unmanned aircraft become increasingly prominent across contemporary battlefields, reproducing their surveillance and payload-delivery effects can give troops a more realistic training environment.

The Fort Indiantown Gap event is notable because it examined the C100X as more than a conventional reconnaissance drone. According to the Army National Guard release, testing included inert training munitions and thermal systems while assessing the aircraft’s potential incorporation into future training scenarios. Inert munitions can allow exercise planners to reproduce aspects of drone-delivered battlefield effects without employing live ordnance, while thermal capabilities can introduce an additional surveillance challenge beyond conventional daytime observation. The Army release did not disclose test results, performance scores, the specific thermal payload employed or any decision to formally adopt the C100X for threat-replication training, making the event an evaluation rather than confirmation of an operational training requirement.

The aircraft belongs to PDW’s broader C100 family, a modular vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned system designed to accept different mission payloads. According to PDW, the C100 Defense platform can be configured for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cross-domain fires, kinetic missions, electronic warfare and communications tasks. The manufacturer lists a maximum speed of 40 mph and up to 74 minutes of flight time with an ISR payload, while available payload options include EO/IR sensors, communications equipment, signals-intelligence capabilities and vision-based navigation intended for GPS-denied environments. PDW also describes the C100 as NDAA compliant and Blue UAS certified. These specifications apply to PDW’s wider C100 Defense offering, however, and neither the Army release nor PDW’s public product page establishes which specific sensor configuration was installed on the C100X during the September 25 test.

The C100 is already connected to a wider U.S. Army effort to field small unmanned systems closer to tactical formations. Army Program Executive Office Aviation identifies the PDW C100 as one of two systems selected to provide a Medium Range Reconnaissance UAS capability, with MRR systems fielded to Transformation in Contact brigade combat teams at company level. The Army describes the mission set as including reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition, with additional capabilities for target identification, communications relay and kinetic missions. Army reporting has also documented C100 use in reconnaissance and surveillance training as the service adapts its UAS force following the divestment of larger legacy tactical drone systems.

That wider Army interest is reinforced by procurement activity involving the newer C100X designation. An official U.S. Department of War contracting notice published on April 7, 2026, reported a $15.259 million firm-fixed-price action for 40 C100X MRD Mission Bundles, 80 Next Vision Raptor EO/IR systems and 17 UXV SROC Ground Control Stations for the Army’s Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Product Office. The notice lists Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal as the contracting activity and an estimated completion date of March 20, 2027. The procurement does not by itself establish a connection between those particular EO/IR systems and the aircraft flown at Fort Indiantown Gap, but it demonstrates that the C100X is part of a broader Army small-UAS acquisition effort beyond the September training evaluation.

The September 25 C100X flights at Fort Indiantown Gap highlight the Army’s continuing effort to expose troops to increasingly representative unmanned-aircraft threats during training. Evaluating inert training munitions, thermal systems and possible future scenario integration could allow training organizations to reproduce a wider range of reconnaissance, detection and simulated payload-delivery challenges without equating the exercise with live-weapons employment. Combined with the Army’s established Medium Range Reconnaissance work and separate procurement of C100X mission bundles, the activity places the platform within a broader push to integrate modular drones into both operational formations and realistic training environments. The Army has not announced whether the Fort Indiantown Gap evaluation will lead to regular use of the C100X by the Emerging Threat Replication Program, leaving that question dependent on future training and acquisition decisions.

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Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.