Download the full release here (CAC Login Required): No. 26-1166 Commanders' sUAS Integration Blueprint

Synopsis

Small, unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) have proven decisive at the tactical edge across contemporary conflicts, yet Army formations continue to rely on improvised methods characterized by ad hoc training, uneven resourcing, and inconsistent staff integration. This article delivers a three-phase blueprint—Foundational Structure, Integrated Team Building, and Full Spectrum Dominance—that commanders can execute immediately to institutionalize sUAS capabilities across platoon through brigade echelons. The framework converts widespread experimentation into doctrine-aligned practice through five interconnected pillars: organizational roles, training architecture, materiel and resourcing, doctrinal employment, and command culture. Commanders will learn how to establish dedicated operators and integrators, protect critical training time, standardize certification pathways, tier equipment appropriately, wire sUAS into the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP) and the targeting cycle, and measure readiness through clear indicators. The result: formations that fly, fight, and fix under pressure, synchronize sUAS into combined arms operations, and achieve durable overmatch against near-peer adversaries.