By Julian Nettlefold,
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have shown how the UAS is now the weapon of choice, either singly or in swarms and it now forms a key part of any military inventory in a variety of roles from ISTAR to armed kamikaze drones. To counter these threats, technology is being brought speedily into service to protect exiting assets on the battlefield and infrastructure behind the front line. Many militaries including the UK, are looking to increase and improve their Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) technology to include a variety of C-UAS systems. We covered GBAD developments in our September issue following the excellent 12th Regiment Royal Artillery GBAD demonstration at Thorney Island.
To demonstrate this policy shift, the U.S. Army now incorporates C-UAS training into Basic Combat Training. The U.S. Army announced on October 21 that Basic Combat Training at Fort Sill would now include Counter-UAS training, ensuring new soldiers are equipped to deal with the tactical challenges of modern warfare. Fort Sill is the U.S. Army’s Live Fires Center of Excellence and home of the Army’s Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems University.
This expertise has enabled Fort Sill to take the lead on the introduction of Counter-UAS training into BCT. The training will be integrated into ‘The Forge,’ the 96-hour, cumulative capstone field training exercise that recruits are required to complete seven weeks into their BCT. For the first time, this exercise will require recruits to identify and respond to drone attacks, preparing them for future Counter-UAS operations. Captain Malachi Leece, Commander of the Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 40th Field Artillery highlighted the changes in comparison to previous trainings, “What’s different this year is the inclusion of live UAS assets, something these trainees will encounter in future conflicts… it’s one thing to simulate drone threats, but having live systems in play makes a world of difference”.
The integration of live assets is designed to ensure that recruits are adequately prepared for the cognitive burden associated with countering aerial drone attacks in a combat scenario, both in managing their response and effectively deploying mitigation techniques. This shift in training orthodoxy has been mandated by the proliferation of drone usage amongst both state and non-actors, upending decades of unrivalled U.S. airborne superiority.
This shift in battlefield realities was demonstrated acutely by the deaths of three U.S. service personnel during the January Tower 22 Attack in Jordan, marking the first time since the Korean War that U.S. ground troops had been killed by hostile aerial attack. The integration of Counter-UAS training into BCT at Fort Sill represents a valuable step in ensuring that the next generation of U.S. warfighters are prepared to deal with the drone threat increasingly defining modern warfare.
