Army Boosting Efforts to Counter Drone Attacks
Army Boosting Efforts to Counter Drone Attacks

Shooting down drones has become one of the Army's top battlefield priorities in recent years, as the threat of roadside bombs downrange has given way to threats hovering overhead.
"This has been one of the most stressed elements of the Army," Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo said during a panel Oct. 14 at the Association of the U.S. Army's Annual Meeting and Exposition.
From October 2023 to February of this year, soldiers in Iraq, Syria and Jordan faced more than 170 attacks from Iran-backed militias, many of those from small unmanned aerial vehicles that were not always detected before they detonated.
More than 200 service members were injured in those attacks, the most damaging of which came in late January on a remote outpost in Jordan, injuring dozens and killing three Army Reserve soldiers.
To defend against that ongoing threat, the Army is investing in modernizing its weapons systems and growing its force structure to support continuous air and missile defense deployments, Camarillo said
That includes a proposed $5.6 billion in the fiscal 2025 budget proposal, he said, a 77% increase over 2024's request.
"The way the threat employs capability, and the way the threat constantly innovates, has a say in how we apportion some of our funding," added Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, commander of Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
Operational tempo for Army air and missile defense units has been a concern, Camarillo added, with many units spending less than three months at home for every month spent deployed, which is the Defense Department's goal.
To that end, a chunk of this year's 61,000 recruiting goal will end up in air and missile defense, specialties that have historically been difficult to man.
"We are looking at incentives to allow us to encourage these soldiers to re-enlist ... and we're also trying to find ways that are very focused to improve quality of life, and to reduce some of the inimical effects of frequent deployments on them and their families," Camarillo said.
That will include standing up more units to fill deployment requirements, among them two new Patriot battalions, nine Indirect Fire Protection Capability battalions, eight Sgt. Stout (formerly known as Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense) battalions and nine counter-unmanned aerial system battalions, Camarillo said.
—Meghann Myers for AUSA