Inside the U.S. Military’s New Drone Warfare School | WSJ

Small, inexpensive “off the shelf” drones, like those Ukraine is using against Russia and Hamas is deploying against Israel, are transforming modern warfare. To train American soldiers to counter the threat of civilian drones modified with explosives, the U.S. military recently opened a specialized drone warfare school.

WSJ visited the first academy of its kind, the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aerial Systems University, that will train about 1,000 troops a year.

Chapters:
0:00 Drone attacks
0:55 The director of the school
3:28 Historical background
4:15 Drones in Ukraine
5:01 Drones in swarms

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#Drones #Military #WSJ

[MrShark-zrbk]

Teaching 1000 soldiers a year is too low. It should be more, if not mandatory for all soldiers.

[ates]

This isn’t enough, drone training needs to be implemented at a boot camp level. These things are taking out tanks, helicopters, full squadrons, and when you least expect it and you’re relaxing on base as security detail or transporting supplies

[yikaiqian]

Wait until you see 10, 000 drones flying at your aircraft carrier

[MikeBenko]

According to recent numbers coming out of the war in Ukraine, each side burns through about ten thousand (10000) drones of every kind (attack, suicide, surveillance, reconnaissance etc) per month. PER MONTH. Drone integration is total at literal squad level. While this is a good first step for adapting to these new conditions, drone warfare training (operation and countering and evading) has to be integrated at boot camp level. Sending a soldier onto the battlefield today without these skills, is like sending a soldier into battle without a helmet and boots.

[narutonaruto]

I remember reading about how the US Marine Corp plan to revamp their infantry squads to include a dedicated drone operator. Could be interesting where they could utilize recon drones and offensive drones at squad level.

[zibbitybibbitybop]

Nice to see the USM being smart and staying ahead of the game. Ignoring the drone threat means certain death.

[shaneintegra]

I was in the quadcopter hobby when it first started up... i knew pretty quickly they would be used as a weapon. Quick, long range, hard to see when flying. Its the most effective weapon there is on the battlefield right now while being extremely cheap

[Penultimeat]

Drones are like a marriage of indirect fire and air support while remaining extremely economical. It’s gonna be a hard thing to counter.

[AZTrigger]

Hard to imagine a infantry squad without a drone specialist now attached. The threat is now as deadly from above as below and what structurally worked in previous conflicts is already becoming obsolete.

[piyh]

I don't see any of this training being effective against evasive drones flying at you at 75 mph laden with explosives

[paulyule]

The challenge and response development is breath-taking. After the drones quickly developed, counter measures were quick to follow.

[ConsensusX]

What about the drones you don't see/hear coming? In most attack videos, the soldiers below are completely unaware of the drone above them until it is too late to react. What they need is a mobile, early detection device for small drones. Drones are the new IED mines, if you ask me.

[guitarninjarick]

Small FPV drones are very maneuverable, smart shooter is a token response. Dominance over the electromagnetic spectrum is a better option i.e. jamming the drone controller's frequency or GPS.

[joshlittle]

Those drone busters are pretty cool. A buddy of mine killed the WiFi in our barracks with it. Lol

[dylanmartin]

Seeing the footage coming out of Ukraine has been brutal and disturbing. These guys on both sides have no idea when a small, 500$ death machine is flying over their head. I cant imagine the psychological effect of not knowing when a fragmentation bomb could drop on you from above.

[rorytribbet]

This is such a critical area of work for our boys. I hope we continue to build this out and appropriately integrate it into our capabilities quickly.

[StephenRWilliams]

Against low numbers of very low-flying, slow moving recon drones in spectacular conditions and visibility, might be useful. Against suicide drones, no chance.

[GrnessnMe]

Great video. Looks like it purposely doesn’t show the larger systems they are training on; probably for good reasons. Smart shooter and drone buster are only handheld options for limited use. Can’t wait to see what else they are training on.

[lpg]

Outstanding video, thanks for sharing! 👍

[greeneyesfromohio]

Although many countries have military drones, I don’t think anyone knew exactly how game changing they would be in warfare….they have completely changed the landscape of conventional war. Rest assured USA will do everything to be on top of drone technology. 🇺🇸