Drones take flight for British Army
From delivering stores to high-speed racing, soldiers have had their eyes firmly on the sky as the use of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) gathers pace in the British Army.
While the latest technology was being tested by the Experimentation and Trials Group (ETG) on Salisbury Plain, soldiers were enjoying the thrills and spills of First Person View (FPV) drone racing at events in London and Colchester.
An assault on Imber village by 2nd Battalion The Royal Yorkshire Regiment used a wide range of drones able to fulfil varied roles, as well as technology to counter the threat of drones.
Troops laid mines from a Spike Firefly UAS to ambush enemy vehicles, received supplies and evacuated a casualty on a Malloy T400 heavy lift drone, flew Parrot Anafis to observe the ground ahead, and dropped small munitions from DefendTex D40s.
Enemy drones flying over the 2 R YORKS troops were jammed using DroneShield equipment and shot out of the sky with the Smartshooter SMASH sight, which mounts on the standard issue SA80 A3 assault rifle and uses image processing software to target UAS. A blast from a shotgun provided a low-tech last line of defence.