U.S. Army to Disband Its Only Equivalent of Ukraine’s Drone Assault Unit

The U.S. has decided to disband an experimental battalion that served as a counterpart to Ukraine’s drone assault unit.

The Wall Street Journal reports this, citing an official statement from a U.S. Army representative.

The battalion was formed in Europe in January of this year to study the experience of the war in Ukraine and to refine tactics for the use of UAVs and UGVs.

A unit with about 600 service members was formed from the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

After participating in the large-scale Saber Junction exercises in Germany, the battalion will submit its findings to the command for further analysis. After that, it will no longer serve in this capacity and will return to performing standard airborne infantry duties.

The dissolution of the experimental unit is part of a new “back-to-basics” strategy. It is being implemented by the acting Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who was appointed following the dismissal of Gen. Randy George in April.

The U.S. Army representative said the service remains committed to accelerating American dominance in UAV warfare, but declined to comment on specific future plans. 

At the same time, LaNeve adopted a series of other decisions reshaping the global configuration of U.S. Army. In particular, a Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) responsible for cyberspace and EW is being redeployed from forces in Europe to South Korea.

In addition, the U.S. III Armored Corps, which had previously been focused on strengthening the European contingent, was reassigned to the newly established Western Hemisphere Command.

The personnel and structural changes also led to a conflict between Gen. LaNeve and Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll.. The officials disagreed on the dismissal of senior commanders and changes to physical fitness standards.

Recently, the U.S. military leadership also canceled scheduled presentations by senior Ukrainian officers at the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning.

The U.S. Army has established a new military formation — the 7th Infantry Division (Multi-Domain Command-Pacific).