A Ukrainian drone unit just destroyed a U.S. Army brigade in a NATO training exercise, finding and eliminating American armored vehicles in Germany’s Combined Resolve exercise so fast that organizers had to reintroduce destroyed vehicles just to keep the drill running. This wasn’t a surprise attack; the Army had watched the same pattern play out against British, Estonian, and Swedish forces over the previous year and lost anyway. Plus, they had some counter-drone gear, just not the latest and greatest. The U.S. Army and USAF know the power of drones. They’ve been flying large drones like the Predator since 1994. I break down the actual tactical mechanism (the dust signature that gives drones an easy detection cue), why this is a doctrine problem rather than an equipment problem, and the real question: whether the U.S. Army can learn this lesson force-wide before real soldiers pay for it. This is tough love. I want my U.S. Army to succeed. We need to do better.
Source: The U.S. Army Was Warned Three Times. It Still Lost Anyway
