The U.S. Army tested two new unmanned aircraft systems, Andril and Skydio, near an air base in Romania, primarily to support surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
As seen in the Ukraine-Russia war, the shift to small unmanned aircraft is playing an important role not only in target elimination, but also in surveillance and reconnaissance operations. So far, many of these drones have been off-the-shelf consumer units or custom-built FPV drones.
Soldiers assigned to the 317th BEB Delta Company tested a new drone system for reconnaissance operations. The training took place in an area near Romania’s Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base.
“Combat is moving to a very drone-heavy type of warfare. With reconnaissance, marksmanship and other capabilities, these will help the (U.S.) Army move one step closer to modernizing the way we fight.” said Lt. Alexis Gavrilis, 35A military intelligence officer with the 317th Brigade Engineer Battalion (BEB). 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.
selected drone
Switching short- and medium-range reconnaissance to dedicated systems allows you to streamline operations and complete extensive personnel training.
“My platoon does equipment and tactics training here, building familiarity to increase proficiency with all equipment,” said Staff Sergeant Kevin Sweeney, Delta Air Lines Squadron Noncommissioned Officer in Charge.
skydio x10
The drone chosen for the Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) mission is Skydio’s X10. Its 30-minute battery life, range of up to 5 miles, and compact size make it ideal for dismounted patrols in infantry and scout platoons.
The main purpose of drones in such situations is to better inform individual platoons of what is going to happen and significantly improve situational awareness. The X10 can be deployed within 10 minutes to 132 soldiers who have already been trained to become certified Skydio pilots.
Skydio’s drones are currently deployed to all companies within the 3rd Brigade Combat Team. The current focus for this system is to bring it to the Multinational Joint Readiness Center (JMRC) in Germany and deploy it in a training environment to provide feedback and guide next software and hardware decisions. .
Anduril Ghost X
For medium range reconnaissance (MRR) missions, Anduril’s GhostX was chosen. GhostX’s standard range of 9.3 miles, 25.5 miles with long-range kit, and 1 hour flight time allows it to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions over a much larger area of land and provides more macroscopic capabilities than other systems. Provides perspective. Skydio.
GhostX can also be equipped with interchangeable payloads weighing up to 20 pounds to improve mission performance and flexibility. Anduril drones can also use their onboard computing power to autonomously detect, classify, and track objects of interest.
“We believe these aircraft will undoubtedly benefit the (U.S.) Army and each service. Increase proficiency with each system, understand flight safety, and utilize the systems to maximize payload. “As long as we keep it important,” added Staff Sergeant Kevin Sweeney, 317th BEB, anti-UAS noncommissioned officer in charge of Delta Air Lines.
Image by Sgt. Courtney Nunnally, via DVIDS.
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