Another U.S. Army Unit Adopts FPV Drones, Catching Up With Ukraine’s Battlefield Experience

The U.S. Army has begun actively adopting Ukraine’s experience in using FPV drones during training exercises.

The exercises were conducted by troops from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade.

The training took place as part of the so-called Project Shiv and involved the use of FPV drones assembled by soldiers and equipped with munitions.

As part of these exercises, paratroopers refined a new approach to executing precise fire against the enemy, incorporating real-time targeting.

As noted by the command, these are only the second FPV drone training exercises conducted by the U.S. Army, but in the future, they will be a significant step for multidomain operations.

It is worth mentioning that in the search for advanced and effective solutions, American defense startups have partnered with Ukrainian manufacturers to create better drones for the U.S. military.

For example, The Wall Street Journal highlights that American startups have spent billions of dollars developing small unmanned aerial vehicles, which, according to the Pentagon, are needed for future conflicts. However, many of these startups produce only expensive drones that “don’t fly very well.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian manufacturers have mastered the serial production of drones despite limited resources and are seeking new customers and capital. Now, both sides are working together, and this collaboration is attracting the attention of the U.S. Department of Defense.

It should be noted that, in addition to the army, the use of FPV drones is also actively taking place in U.S. Army Special Forces, which have been much quicker to learn from the war in Ukraine and prepare for new challenges.

Recently, the soldiers from the 3rd Special Forces Group of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command in North Carolina conducted training on FPV drone operation.

These exercises were part of the Organically Designed & Built Small Unmanned Aerial Systems course, organized by Oak Grove Technologies, aimed at enhancing the military’s skills for the effective use of advanced weaponry.

However, the Pentagon has certain concerns related to the significant dependence on Chinese components, which, in the event of a war between the countries, could severely impact the capabilities of the United States Armed Forces.