Army Fields 10,000 Drones, Training Lags Behind

The U.S. Army has successfully fielded 10,000 small drones and is currently receiving an additional 30,000 units. This influx aims to equip every squad with drone capabilities, marking a significant advancement in the Drone Dominance program. Despite substantial hardware acquisition, the service acknowledges a gap in soldier training for these systems.

The Army is actively working to address this training deficit by implementing specialized courses, such as the Unmanned Advanced Lethality Course, and integrating drone familiarization into basic training. Efforts are also underway to select drone companies for advancement through evaluations, with plans to field thousands of low-cost attack drones by next fiscal year.

Lessons learned from the war in Ukraine and feedback from soldiers training with Ukrainian forces are informing the Army's approach to drone warfare integration. Although a specialized drone unit was phased out, Army officials stated its experimental role was temporary, with the objective being to cultivate drone skills across all formations rather than relying on a single unit.