Drone school created to teach young US Army soldiers

With drones inevitably becoming more common on the battlefield, instructors at Fort Benning, Georgia have started a new school to give soldiers the knowledge on unmanned vehicles. As reported by Matthew Cox from Military.com, students of this new school will learn how to fly drones and how to deal with them in combat.

Skills taught

Drones pose an entirely new threat on the battlefield. Each encounter could be different as each drone will have different specifications and could be armed with different payloads. Some might even not be weaponized, instead just collecting data for the enemy on whereabouts of troops and equipment. These soldiers have to be ready for anything.

According to Capt. Sean Minton, commander of D Company, 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment, there is a special process that must be completed when a drone is spotted on the battlefield. A seven-line report will be created and then transmitted to headquarters via radio to alert higher command of a drones presence.

With these enemy drones potentially in the air, students of the new drone school will learn how to evade potential attacks and hide from aerial attacks. Most importantly, students are learning how to fly drones. Knowing how these things work is probably the best knowledge someone could have when dealing with an enemy aircraft.

Soldiers aren’t just learning how to take a nice stroll over the trees, instead, they are being taught precision drone flying through obstacles. They are seen as a great way to track down armed enemies from a safe position. Staff Sgt. Arturo Saucedo tells his students:

“Instead of chasing him through a booby hole, you just track him,” he said. “Now you have a grid of his location, and you can do what you need to do.”

Drones in the battlefield

Drone technology is on the rise, with new technology being improved every day. The US Army looks to add drones to accompany their soldiers, which we covered the other day. These are known as Black Hornet’s and are capable of reconnaissance missions.

Current drone models being taught in this new drone school are the RQ-11B Raven, a fixed-wing drone, and helicopters that are supposedly as quiet as a hummingbird. This in itself poses a major threat to soldiers on the ground.

Right now, the most widely used drone used in the battlefield looks more like a manned aircraft than a drone and is capable of sticking precisely on a target from long range. These are known as the MQ-9 Reaper drones that boast long flight time and high speeds.

What do you think about drones in the military? Let us know in the comments below.

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