More than a sport, soldiers race drones for future warfare
In the dark bowels of Wellington Barracks in Westminster the British Army pitched its finest soldiers in competition to see who could thrive best in the battlefields of the future.
Every unit in the Army’s Global Response Division, 1 UK Division, was brought together from across the whole of the UK, and challenged to compete in a 10 hour drone racing competition that for the first time was deliberately designed to look like it was set in a modern battlefield in a war torn city.
30 teams of four were issued with state of the art First Person View (FPV) hydrocarbon drones and Point of View (POV) headsets.
They initially had to race against each other through a complex battle zone of ruined buildings and crippled vehicles. Then after making their way through sandbag-lined trenches in pitch darkness, they faced a gruesome scenario in “enemy territory”. There they worked as a team to carry out reconnaissance, and extract as much intelligence as possible before extracting their drone safely from the area.
Drones used in modern warfare have altered the dynamics of military operations, offering unique tactical advantages and enhancing the soldiers’ operational efficiency in various combat scenarios. Drones have been used by armies worldwide for various purposes, including surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeted strikes. The Army is exploring ways in which they can be used more widely by a much broader range of soldiers.