U.S. Military trains service members to counter growing drone threat

FORT SILL, Okla. – As drones go an expanding menace connected the battlefield, the U.S. Military is grooming work members to neutralize them before they tin strike.

At Fort Sill, work members from crossed the subject are undergoing counter-drone grooming astatine the Joint C-sUAS (Counter tiny Unmanned Aircraft System) University (JCU), besides known arsenic "drone university." 

The programme has go a captious portion of the Military's efforts to combat the rapidly increasing usage of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by adversaries.

"It’s the Army's premier Counter-Small UAS grooming institution," said Col. Moseph Sauda, the program’s director. "Our ngo is to hole and bid the associated unit to antagonistic the threat, to beryllium capable to recognize that threat, however they operate, and however they onslaught us… We tin past make not lone tactics, techniques, and procedures, but besides the employment methodology that maximizes the capabilities of our existing systems."

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A 3D-printed drone flies supra from Oklahoma's Fort Sill astatine the U.S. Army's Joint C-sUAS University.  (Sarah Alegre)

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The grooming includes real-life scenarios and precocious weapons to assistance Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen support against force drone threats. Service members prosecute successful immersive exercises that simulate real-world drone incursions and hostile UAV threats.

"We tin bid utilizing simulations crossed antithetic systems and platforms to supply real, rigorous grooming — akin to what you would expect successful a real-world situation," Sauda said. "We absorption connected making definite our work members are exposed to assorted scenarios that they mightiness look successful a contested environment."

A trainee points a Smart Shooter Fire Control Optic astatine a drone target. (Sarah Alegre)

Recent conflicts successful Ukraine and the Middle East person highlighted the increasing relation of drone warfare, with adversaries utilizing drones for surveillance, reconnaissance, and nonstop attacks. The U.S. subject is moving to enactment up of these threats by integrating cost-effective grooming methods, including the usage of balloons alternatively of drones for people signifier and 3D-printed drone replicas that let for repeated usage and modifications. It gives trainees a realistic acquisition portion minimizing costs.

"We're talking astir a 91% simplification successful what it would outgo the U.S. government," said Sauda. 

Military men clasp a damaged 3D-printed drone that tin beryllium restored and utilized again for grooming purposes.  (Sarah Alegre)

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"We employment a multitude of capabilities present successful bid to supply the astir realistic grooming possible…  That means our work members bid utilizing simulations crossed antithetic systems and platforms, giving them the accidental to prosecute with threats successful real-time environments portion besides being mindful of the interaction of these technologies successful combat."

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As drone exertion continues to evolve, the subject is preparing work members to conscionable the challenge—ensuring they are acceptable to support against airborne threats connected the battlefield.

"This is not a occupation to instrumentality lightly," Sauda said. "There’s been a important concern — from unit to backing — to marque definite we’re addressing this. It’s not conscionable astir technology… It’s astir having the close radical and the close expertise connected the crushed to respond."