MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania — “Combat is moving into a very drone heavy type of warfare,” said 1st Lt. Alexis Gavrillis, a military intelligence officer with the U.S. Army's 317th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. “With reconnaissance, fires, and other capabilities, these are going to help the Army get one step closer to modernizing the way we fight.”
Soldiers assigned to Delta Company, 317th Brigade Engineer Battalion field tested new unmanned aircraft systems on November 25, 2024, in a training area near Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base.
Unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, are not necessarily a new addition to the U.S. Army. Reports as far back as the 1930s make mention of drone innovation and the development of surveillance systems during times of war. One notable UAS in U.S. history is the MQ-1 Predator, introduced in 1995, used in conflicts with Afghanistan and Iraq and later retired in 2018. This system laid the groundwork for drones today that includes the short and medium-range reconnaissance systems, known respectively as SRR and MRR systems.
One such SRR aircraft is the Skydio system. With a max flight time of 30 minutes, 3-5 kilometers range, it is specifically designed for dismounted patrols for infantry and scout platoons. The utilization of this system is to get a better understanding of the battlefield for ground personnel’s immediate area and properly plan their maneuvers.
The GhostX system is a MRR aircraft that has a maximum range of 15 kilometers with the standard kit and can push to 25 kilometers with long range kit. This system has a flight time of around 1 hour and provides surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance information to company commanders over a much wider area.
The 317th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division is the first unit Army-wide to be fielded these systems and employ them in a training environment.
“My platoon is out here conducting training for the equipment and tactics and building familiarity to increase our proficiency with all of our equipment,” said Staff Sgt Kevin Sweeny, counter UAS non-commissioned officer in charge for Delta Company.
“Procedure for being a certified operator requires basic training for the systems,” said Sweeny. "You have to be a qualified aircraft operator before you're able to put the aircraft in the air, so we run an initial qualification program for multiple units in our brigade. We’ve trained 132 Soldiers to become Skydio operators. They can take the aircraft out of its case, assemble it, mission plan and get it in the air in less than 10 minutes.”
The Skydio is currently being disseminated to every company within 3rd Brigade Combat Team. The goal is to take the aircraft to Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany to get the systems in a training environment and give feedback for what could be improved or added to improve mission efficiency.
“The end state of this whole exercise is to test the personnel and to test the structure of the platoon and the communication between the squads and how we work together as a whole,” said Gavrillis.
There is no specific military occupation specialty needed to fly the Skydio or the GhostX. Everyone who has received training and certification to be an operator can take to the sky.
“The GhostX system will be disseminated down to battalion levels so those will also require certified operators that will go through a training program most likely provided by my team,” said Sweeny.
By using the cameras on the aircrafts, commanders and other leaders make timely decisions while also keeping the Soldiers out of harm's way as much as possible.
“I believe these aircraft will definitely be a benefit to the Army and individual units,” said Sweeny. “As long as we maintain the importance of developing proficiency with each system and understand the safety of flight and utilizing the system to maximize the payload.”
“I think it's a very vital piece of equipment that will enhance our mission capabilities and increase our effectiveness,” said Sweeny.
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