Hohenfels, Germany – as the morning fog rose on rolled and forested hills in Bavaria, southeastern Germany, a drone sweeping towards the clear crashed and two American infantry men came out running from a nearby forest to change two long Black batteries.
Under the cover of nearby trees, another soldier was on a laptop monitoring the activity of that drone and several others, tracking an enemy vehicle several miles away.
Developed and tested using information from the Battlefield of Real Life in Ukraine, the drone was one of several pieces of technology, including light vehicles and updated communication devices that the US Army. UU. In Europe he tried for the first time .
“These drones are definitely smarter than ever,” said Lieutenant Jake Baumert A NBC News earlier this month while his new squad of unmanned systems experienced with the new team to discover the best way to use it in the traditional fight of infantry.
“They have missions and they are semi -autonomos, not totally autonomous, but you plan it, and you can direct them if you want,” added the 28 -year -old Dallas.
Implementation of multiple drones, including short -range quadcopters similar to those available in public stores, his squad observed the tactical vehicles of the opposite force. They also sent larger unmanned aerial vehicles that flew semi -autonomically.
In addition to being able to start and land them with a click of a button on their portable computer, operators could also control the drones to other hidden units in dense forests to several miles away, while the information they collected could be shared instantly with colleagues or colleagues Commanders
“I think the greatest advantage is the technology that is in the drone and its ability to give it data,” Baumert said.
In other places, the soldiers tested vehicles that accommodate more soldiers than traditional humves. Smaller already more agile in steep terrain, they are easier to camouflage and are equipped with hybrid motors, which makes them quieter and is less likely that they are seen by drones with thermal cameras.
The lessons learned during the three -year war of Ukraine with Russia and Israel’s fight with Hamas in Gaza had really identified that we have to be faster to stay competitive, “Sergeant. Army Major Michael Weimer said in an interview at the end of last month.
The experience obtained during missile attacks and unmanned planes from Iran against Israel, as well as those of his Army of Hutí Power in Yemen was also taking into account, he added.
“The character of the war is changing at a speed that we had never seen before,” he said. “We have to be faster to stay competitive with the technology that is changing.”
The information on the battlefield came through several ways in Ukraine, he said.
“Traditionally, we would not give such a new technology to the soldiers so early. Traditionally, we would take some soldiers, and allow them to use the team, experiment with it, get some comments from them, then return, do more research and development, ”Weimer added. “What we are doing here, because much of this is commercial on the shelf, is that we are speeding up our ability to learn.”
According to Ed Arnold, a European security expert at the Royal United Servic Services, a security expert from Royal United Services, a security expert from Royal United Institute, a London -based security expert.
“Using drones to detect objectives is one of the most important things we have learned from Ukraine. As an example, using artillery strikes. There is no place to hide on the battlefield, ”he said in an interview earlier this month.
He added that maritime capacities were “probably more significant than the abilities of the Earth”, because the Ukrainian army had been able to use marine drones to destroy Russian ships and infrastructure. This had allowed Ukraine to keep vital shipping lanes open so that he could continue exporting critical products such as grain.
The US army had also learned a lot about the way Ukraine has defended parts of the Black Sea, he said.
Back in the training field in Hohenfels, Colonel Josh Glonek, the commander of the third brigade, 10th Mountain Division, said that the incorporation of the new technology had drastically reduced the time it took a trip to a shot after detecting to detect An enemy.
This had gone from double digits less than two minutes, said the 43 -year -old man from Gordon, Wisconsin.
“The lessons that come out of Ukraine are the ones that we are adapting very quickly and incorporating into our own training,” he said. “So it will be provided, I would say, an emergency feeling, not only for us, but also for our NATO allies, it is modernized very quickly.”
Carlo Angerer reported from Hohenfels and Meagan Fitzgerald from London.
