US Military Advances Drone Warfare Capabilities and Training

The US military is advancing its drone warfare capabilities and training to better prepare for the growing threat of drone attacks on American soldiers. The 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell recently conducted a massive training exercise called "Operation Lethal Eagle," which focused extensively on drones.

"The drones are a part of the battlefield now," said Lt. Col. Reed Markham, commander of the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team. "Here in the 101st — because we're a transformation and contact unit — we're also used as an opportunity to assess a bunch of emerging tech, new technologies, new tactics, techniques."

The training exercise involved testing various drone systems, including the Black Hornet, a small, handheld drone system that can be easily carried on one's person.

US Army Sgt. Fisher Wagler demonstrated how the drone works: "We would be looking for observation and listening posts, other scout elements and other vehicles."

"I have never flown a drone before. So, this is my first time and it's pretty simple," said Scripps News military correspondent Maya Rodriguez as she flew one of the drones over a nearby forest and field.

Drone attacks on American soldiers during the past few years have not only injured soldiers but also turned deadly. In January 2024, Iran-backed militias launched an attack drone at an American military outpost in Jordan called Tower 22, killing three U.S. service members.

"That kind of mentality of being aware of what's above you and that what we call being under constant observation is very important for how we train," Markham said. "And then, on the offensive side, it's called a 'Black Hornet.'"

U.S. Army Sgt. Fisher Wagler explained what the viewing screen showed as the drone flew overhead: "You can see what's up ahead, which is basically, you have thermals we can see. So, if you spin right, you should see like the truck down there. The heat is hitting some people in the woods."

Spc. John Ward explained that the drones are meant to be intuitive to run: "Those kind of things that, when we do see a drone, to make lock with it and to try to disrupt its signal." He also mentioned that soldiers have counter-drone equipment, a bunch of different types, and they're going to test it out and see what works, what doesn't.

Brandan Buck, a foreign policy research fellow at The Cato Institute, said: "UAVs, particularly the cheap ones like the quadcopters that you see with the first-person video that we've all seen on the internet — those act as basically their Air Force on the cheap."

Buck served in the U.S. military and later became an intelligence analyst. He gave the US military a letter grade of B-minus for countering cheaper attack drones, saying: "The problem is scale. It's being able to shoot them down fast enough, and an economy of scale, to make it worthwhile."

It is drone-countering technology that Buck said is still in development.

That is something the Fort Campbell training exercise is also addressing. They are working on creating smaller encampment footprints that enemy drones might miss, all while trying to perfect their drone warfare.