Army ‘transforming-in-contact’ unit using more drones than ever before
This is part one of a three-part series examining the conclusion of the Army’s transforming-in-contact 1.0 initiative and looking forward to the next iteration. Part two can be found here.
Pulling on lessons from Ukraine, an Army unit testing an experimental concept recently employed the most drones it’s ever used in an exercise of its kind, to great effect against the enemy, according to officials.
3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division was the third and final unit to participate in a large training exercise as part of the first iteration of what the Army is calling “transforming-in-contact.” A top priority for the chief of staff of the Army, the concept envisions using deployments and troop rotations to test new equipment — mainly commercial off-the-shelf gear — that could allow units to be more responsive on a dynamic battlefield. It has initially focused on three main areas where officials say the Army needs to be faster and more adaptable when it comes to delivering equipment to forces, due to how challenging the threat environment is and the cat-and-mouse aspect of countering opponents’ moves: unmanned aerial systems, counter-UAS and electronic warfare.