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Defense & Security · North America

Army opens two Indiana National Guard sites to commercial drone testing

Acting Secretary of the Army Adam R. Telle announced that Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center and Muscatatuck Training Center will join the Army’s Permissive Test Range Expansion Initiative. The sites offer different testing environments, including Camp Atterbury’s restricted airspace and Muscatatuck’s configurable urban infrastructure.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 2 of 5 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 7 entries
5 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Too few ratedL 0 · C 0 · R 1 · 4 unrated
Updat3 graphic: Army
Updat3 graphic

What happened

Key facts

  • Acting Secretary of the Army Adam R. Telle announced the additions at the Northeast Indiana Defense Summit (per 21alivenews.com, Washington Examiner).
  • At the time of an August announcement, Driscoll said the Army would provide access to one of the sites within 30 days, compared with 12 to 18 months in the past (per Washington Examiner).

The brief

The Army has added two Indiana National Guard training locations to its Permissive Test Range Expansion Initiative, opening Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center and Muscatatuck Training Center to commercial drone testing. Acting Secretary of the Army Adam R. Telle announced the designations at the Northeast Indiana Defense Summit.

The facilities offer distinct testing settings. Camp Atterbury has more than 34,000 acres of secure space and a restricted airspace corridor reaching up to 40,000 feet. Muscatatuck covers 1,000 acres and includes urban infrastructure that can be configured for developmental testing, including work on drone and counter-drone navigation and tracking systems.

The accounts emphasize different aspects of the announcement. 21Alive News details the sites’ physical characteristics and the systems that could be tested at Muscatatuck. The Washington Examiner frames the additions as two more facilities for commercial drone companies and places them within the Army’s broader range expansion initiative.

Both report Telle’s announcement and name the two Indiana centers. The Army’s initiative concerns access to military testing ranges for commercial developers. The Washington Examiner reports that Driscoll said, during an August announcement, that the service would give developers access to one of the sites within 30 days; previously, access could take between 12 and 18 months.

That account ties the shorter access period to the Army’s testing-range program, but does not identify which of the two Indiana facilities the statement concerned. Telle described the Army’s approach in a press release as opening its doors to American innovators and reducing bureaucratic obstacles.

His remarks framed the announcement as part of the Army’s effort to make military facilities available to innovators. The coverage does not include a separate statement from commercial developers or detail the conditions under which companies may use either location.

The sites’ differing layouts provide the clearest account of what the new designations bring: Camp Atterbury offers expansive secure land and controlled airspace, while Muscatatuck offers an adaptable urban setting for testing particular systems. The two centers therefore add contrasting environments to the initiative rather than identical facilities.

The announcement establishes the two sites as designated locations, while the reported access estimate concerns one site and came from an earlier August announcement. The available account does not identify when commercial testing will begin at either Indiana facility.

Why it matters

  • Commercial drone developers gain two designated Army testing locations, with Camp Atterbury offering more than 34,000 acres and restricted airspace up to 40,000 feet.
  • Muscatatuck’s 1,000 acres of configurable urban infrastructure can support testing drone and counter-drone navigation and tracking systems.
  • The Washington Examiner reports a substantial access-time contrast: Driscoll said access to one site would be available within 30 days, compared with 12 to 18 months previously.

What to watch next

  • Whether the Army provides commercial developers access to either Indiana site under the initiative.
  • Which of the two designated facilities is covered by the access estimate Driscoll gave during the August announcement.
  • Whether the Army specifies the conditions for commercial use of Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck.
  • When commercial testing begins at either facility.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
6 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 1 Right · 4 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Unknown 80% · US/Canada 20%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
0 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 4 unrated outlets are not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in Unknown (4 of 5 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

3 framing differences · 1 uncorroborated claim · 1 information gap
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 2 reports whose article text Updat3 read; 3 other outlets were checked by headline only.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • 21Alive News foregrounds the sites’ physical capabilities, including Camp Atterbury’s acreage and airspace and Muscatatuck’s configurable urban infrastructure.
  • The Washington Examiner emphasizes that the additions give commercial drone companies two more facilities and includes the reported access-time comparison.
  • The Washington Examiner’s excerpt refers to access to one site but does not say whether that means Camp Atterbury or Muscatatuck.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • Telle said the Army was opening access to American innovators and reducing bureaucratic obstacles.
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The coverage does not identify the commercial companies that may use the sites or detail any access requirements.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The U.S. Army established Camp Atterbury in Indiana as a military training site.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. The U.S. military operated the RQ-1 Predator in the Balkans in the 1990s, and the aircraft conducted its first armed strike in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. The Indiana National Guard acquired the former Muscatatuck State Developmental Center and converted it into a training site.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. Congress enacted the FAA Modernization and Reform Act, directing the FAA to integrate unmanned aircraft into the national airspace.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. In June 2016, the FAA issued Part 107, the first broad set of federal rules for routine commercial small-drone flights, including requirements for pilot certification and operating limits.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. In August 2023, the Department of Defense announced the Replicator initiative, which sought to field large numbers of lower-cost autonomous systems.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. In August 2025, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll announced an effort to expand commercial access to military test ranges for drone and counter-drone development.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

In August 2025, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll announced an effort to expand commercial access to military test ranges for drone and counter-drone development. Driscoll said the Army aimed to make one site available within 30 days, rather than the 12 to 18 months that access had previously taken.

The Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 directed the FAA to integrate unmanned aircraft into the national airspace. In June 2016, the FAA issued Part 107, the first broad set of federal rules for routine commercial small-drone flights, including requirements for pilot certification and operating limits.

Original sources

6 articles from 5 outlets

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