Drones incorporated into Army basic training
Using lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, the U.S. Army has started to incorporate the use of drones during exercises. Soldiers factor drones when it comes to accomplishing the training missions. They also have to consider the opposition’s drones while assessing training scenario threats. The Army has incorporated the drone threat in the capstone event in Army basic training.
From Task & Purpose:
First-person drones have proven to be a particularly lethal weapon for both Ukrainian and Russian troops, with both sides using them to attack personnel and equipment.
The Army is currently developing new 25 and 30mm rounds with proximity sensors that Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Apache helicopters can use to destroy drones.
One lesson from the Ukraine war is that when U.S. troops deploy to combat zones, they must be constantly aware that “literally the sky above you, just above the treetops, can be buzzing with danger,” said Samuel Bendett, a Russia team member with CNA, a non-profit research and analysis organization in Arlington, Virginia.
“The U.S. military is not used to not controlling the zero to 2,000-feet altitude, where a lot of this drone activity is actually taking place,” Bendett told Task & Purpose. “That is, the U.S. military is used to having the Air Force controlling the skies, clearing the skies of adversarial assets. But a lot of fighting In Ukraine isn’t necessarily at higher altitudes, even where helicopters are flying.”
In Ukraine, drones provide constant observation over both Russian and Ukrainian forces, Bendett said. That means U.S. troops must train how to maneuver in a drone-saturated environment.
“Essentially, the main lesson is: Any large group of anything — whether it’s humans, systems, weapons — will be a potential target,” Bendett said. “The movement must be in as small of a group as possible as quickly as possible. You don’t move 20 soldiers at once. You try to move in small groups, for example, with ample distance between soldiers. You move at different times of the day. You don’t emanate a lot of signals when you move.”
Additional Reading:
Schogol, J. (2024, October 17). Army revamps basic training to simulate battlefield stalked by drone swarms. Task & Purpose. Link.
Mmm, good. Ogg like drone!
“…must be in as small of a group as possible as quickly as possible….with ample distance between soldiers…” Duh huh! I thought that lesson was learned (and trained for) long ago? How many times was PFC Snuffy told “DO NOT BUNCH UP! Maintain your intervals!” Some reports I’ve read of late talk of individual soldiers being targeted. Instead of “The Clone Wars” we are now looking at “The Drone Wars”. SkyNet…grins! Our robots will be hunting their robots. That ought to solve the recruitment problems. Will there be a new MOS for anti drone soldiers? Master Skeet Shooter’s Badge? If a troop shoots down 5 drones will he/she become an Ace?
Also a founding member of the No Shit Sherlock Club. It can’t be that we have forgotten the basics about security and protection from IDF?
In related news the Russians are now estimated to have lost 12,000 tanks and 18,000 other assorted armored vehicles in their quest to rid the Ukraine of Nazis. Couldn’t happen to nicer folks.