As drone threats grow and develop globally, the Army is investing in small-unmanned aircraft systems and counter-small UAS capabilities, defense leaders said before the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee.
With the rapid proliferation of drones, the Army must lead in the drone warfare space, according to the author of a new paper published by the Association of the U.S. Army.
“The dawn of tactical drone warfare is here,” writes Lt. Col. Michael Kim. “The Russo-Ukrainian War clearly displays the advent of [kinetic drone] warfare, and it behooves the U.S. Army to make critical changes today. The U.S. Army must lead this effort and integrate tactical [kinetic drones] at scale before the next major conflict.”
Since 2016, coinciding with operations against the Islamic State group, defense leaders have characterized drones, especially small unm
While the Army has been trying to see farther at least since the Civil War, it is now working to leverage data and unmanned systems to push even deeper into the battlefield, a panel of experts said Dec. 3.
“We’ve been here before. What’s different is the scale and speed,” Brig. Gen. Rory Crooks, director of Army Futures Command’s Long-Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team, said during a panel discussion that was part of an Association of the U.S. Army Hot Topic on fires.
In December, the Association of the U.S. Army’s “Army Matters” podcast will highlight the Army’s efforts to counter enemy drones and feature a soldier who helped make history at the 2024 Olympics.
Some of the lessons learned so far from the war in Ukraine have come into play as the Army considers how it will fight in the Indo-Pacific, Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo said.
The small, unmanned aircraft systems threat to ground forces is a problem that’s “not going anywhere any time soon,” said Maj. Gen. David Stewart, director of the Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office. Defending the homeland against the threat of small drones further complicates the issue, he said.
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.
The Army’s air defense branch is transforming to meet the rapidly evolving threat of unmanned aircraft systems, a panel of Army leaders said.
The prevalence of unmanned aerial systems presents a ubiquitous threat that is fundamentally transforming the battlefield, Undersecretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo said.
“What we’re seeing, and not just in Ukraine, but really around the world, is that the availability and the impact of small, unmanned aerial systems and the threats that they present on the battlefield is here to stay,” Camarillo said May 17 during a discussion on drone warfare hosted by the Center for a New American Security.
