Low cost drones in war are not new. Russians and Ukrainians used them during Russia’s initial invasion in 2014 to collect recognition data that allowed land artillery attacks. Shortly after, Militant groups, such as ISIS, used them to launch grenades against enemy forces.
But at the end of 2023, when the Ukraine Ministry of Defense intensified the production and delivery of first -person kamikaze drones and promoted large -scale training of the Ukrainian forces, the drones quickly passed from being A curiosity on the battlefield to a determining factor in tactical victoriesrepresenting 70 % of Russia’s defeats on the battlefield, according to official estimates.
The Pentagon has taken note. In 2023, he launched a pilot project to quickly increase the production of low -cost and highly autonomous attack drones with a program called Replicator. While the project was praised for his vision, It did not reach the production scale that many expected.
But last week, the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, announced a series of changes in policies to allow Military entities within the Armed Forces make their own purchasesinstead of resorting to slower and more formal channels. And something else.
Recently, the different bodies of the Armed Forces confirmed that they will meet at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, next month to A “Top Gun” School of Kamikaze Drones of First Personthose who currently help Ukrainians defend themselves against the invasion of Russian forces.
Since 2023, the Semiannual Experimentation event for Technological Preparation (T-REX) has served as showcase for new prototypes of drones and other emerging arms technologies useful in all armed forces. This year, human skill will also be shown in one of the highest growth areas in the war: the flight of drones with first person vision (FPV).
Demonstrations will simulate combat conditions in urban environments and other places. All this is part of the new effort of the Pentagon to achieve what military leaders call “American domain of drones.”
Alexander Lovett, Deputy Secretary of Defense for Prototypes and Experimentation, said it is also relevant to the Navy, the Air Force and Marine Infantry. “The armed forces are developing FPV drones schools and drones capabilities” -explains Lovett -. The Top Gun School section will present to teams and drones pilots, ‘Red against blue’, and new anti -nesting technologies.”
Emil Michael, the newly appointed Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, pointing out the various models and prototypes of drones in the courtyard of the Pentagon, described the exhibition as “The beginning of the American domain of drones.”
But at present, this domain is only an aspiration. Russia has supplied its top -line troops almost 1.5 million small dronesaccording to the CNA analyst Sam Bendett.
For his part, Bendett declared that the figure is probably greater this year than the previous one, but that Ukraine could now be at the head, supplying his own forces 200,000 drones per month. A major problem is China, which dominates the market not only of small consumption drones, but also of digital and essential components that compose them.Thus, for now, the field in which the United States can win, would be piloting.