In Germany, during military exercises held in April and May, Ukrainian and U.S. troops competed. During the Combined Resolve drills, Ukrainian drone units easily detected and defeated U.S. troops and armored vehicles, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the events.
About 3,500 U.S. service members were tasked with attacking a position defended by the training range’s notional opposing force, reinforced by Ukrainian troops from the 412th Nemesis Unmanned Systems Forces Regiment. The units were equipped with standard electronic warfare and counter-drone systems.
“During the exercise, Ukrainian drone operators destroyed a U.S. armored brigade—according to U.S. officials briefed on the course of the drills, as well as one participant. Units taking part in the exercise threw heavy armored vehicles into the fight, kicking up dust and becoming easy prey for Ukrainian reconnaissance drones, the participant said. He added that these drones were followed by unmanned aircraft dropping explosives and FPV drones that crash into targets in combat,” the article says.
Ammunition is rarely used in such training. Typically, a drone hovers over the vehicle it intends to “hit,” or simply flies as close to it as possible. Ukrainian drones did this to U.S. equipment so quickly that it had to be returned to the exercise as “new units.”
The U.S. repeated the training scenario over the two-week exercise. Units arriving for rotation improved their results because they learned to disperse better, camouflage themselves, and use electronic warfare, an Army representative said. Midway through the exercise, the Ukrainians switched to their side and helped the Americans apply drone technologies in the offensive. The official said it worked effectively.
New mobile brigade combat teams equipped with the latest gear and tactics performed significantly better in the exercise, the Army representative said.
The drills tested troops’ ability to employ small frontline drones and defend against them. Such training is conducted specifically so service members can experience realistic combat conditions.
In recent years, Army leadership in Europe has leveraged the presence of Ukrainian troops to have them take part in exercises and pass on their hard-won skills to U.S. and allied units on simulated “battlefields.” British and Swedish exercises also ended in easy Ukrainian victories.
The current drills highlighted the vulnerability of U.S. forces to drones—despite years of integrating unmanned systems as an integral part of warfare. It was the United States that first began using long-range drones in combat operations.
The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars on new drone and counter-drone technologies and created dedicated units for them. However, in fighting in the Middle East, Americans found it quite difficult to defend against long-range Iranian UAVs that killed and wounded service members.