Xrange Boosts U.A.E. Defense Testing With New Drone Village, Runways, and Blast Trials

XRANGE, an Abu Dhabi-based Training, Test & Evaluation (TT&E) facility operated by REMAYA, has expanded its capabilities with new infrastructure and testing services to support defense, aerospace, and commercial clients.

The upgrades include a 1.2 km secondary runway at Abu Al Abyad Airfield, doubling the facility’s capacity for unmanned aerial system (UAS) testing. Two 800 m emergency runways improve recovery operations, ensuring UAS retrieval during in-flight contingencies.

The new environmental test center enables component-level testing using electrodynamic shaker tables, temperature and humidity chambers, and explosive drop tests of up to 40 kg of high explosives. Additionally, the newly launched UAS Drone Training Village supports AI-driven urban recognition and first-person-view (FPV) drone operator training in simulated city environments.

XRANGE has also secured expanded airspace access, working with Al Dhafra Air Operations Centre (AOC) to provide a 100 km x 25 km air corridor west of Abu Al Abyad Island, cleared up to 10,000 ft.

To support multi-domain trials, XRANGE has introduced ruggedized sensors that collect real-time data on noise, vibration, shock, and blast pressure for UAVs, land vehicles, maritime platforms, and weapon systems. A new vehicle blast and ballistics testing capability is also in development, assessing armored vehicles against small arms fire, grenades, RPGs, and anti-tank mines under STANAG-4569 military standards.