ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

For less than $800, soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division are building drones that are designed to be disposable, the deputy commanding general of the division said.

The Attritable Battlefield Enabler, or ABE 1.01, named after the division’s bald eagle mascot, is yet another advancement soldiers are making as the Army works to adapt and keep up with fast evolving drone warfare.

A new Army-led task force will work to address the growing threat of hostile drones at home and overseas.

In a complex, volatile and changing world, the U.S. needs all components of its Total Army to fight and win, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said.

“We are working rapidly to update our combat training centers and our regional training centers. We are going to have to be able to operate drones and be able to do things in the electronic warfare environment … those changes are going to happen,” George said Aug. 23 during the National Guard Association of the United States General Conference and Exhibition in Milwaukee.

A new course underway at the Army Aviation Center of Excellence trains soldiers on the lethal employment of drones.

Countering the threat of unmanned aircraft systems on the battlefield is going to take a layered effort “at every level,” Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus said.

The Army must adapt and update its small-unmanned aircraft systems training to effectively compete on today’s battlefield, according to a report from the Rand Corp.

Army leaders must understand how to employ counter-unmanned aerial systems capabilities to give their soldiers freedom of maneuver and protection on the future battlefield, according to a new paper published by the Association of the U.S. Army.