Cheap Drones Prove Devastating Against U.S. Tanks in War Game
Ukrainian drone operators inflicted heavy casualties on an American armored brigade during military exercises, highlighting the evolving nature of modern warfare.
Cheap drones, costing as little as $500, inflicted approximately 70% of casualties on a U.S. Army tank brigade during the initial days of a major military exercise, according to the brigade commander. The exercise, which simulated combat scenarios in Germany, demonstrated the significant impact of drone warfare on conventional armored forces.
Colonel Michael Ziegelhofer, commander of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, noted in a published overview of the drills that the extensive experience gained by Ukrainian forces fighting Russia has fundamentally altered modern warfare. The exercise pitted U.S. heavy armor, including $25 million M1A2 Abrams tanks and M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicles, against a simulated Ukrainian drone unit.
The 10-day exercise, dubbed Combined Resolve, saw over 750 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAS) attacks between the U.S. team, Greywolf, and the simulated Ukrainian unit, Nemesis. The initial onslaught on the first day, conducted by Ukraine’s 412th Regiment of Unmanned Systems Forces, forced the U.S. troops to rapidly adapt their tactics. The brigade implemented electronic warfare and counter-drone systems to jam incoming UAS. However, weaknesses in these countermeasures left them vulnerable to fiber-optic first-person-view drones.
By the third day of the exercise, U.S. forces had begun to overcome these challenges. By splitting their forces to overwhelm drone pilots and integrating their capabilities with counter-UAS equipment and tactics, techniques, and procedures, the U.S. brigade was able to achieve success in conducting combined arms breaches. This adaptation led to drone-related casualties falling below 30% by the end of the third day. The authors of the overview concluded that Greywolf changed how it fought to counter the drone threat.
The exercise underscored the growing importance of drones as a decisive weapon in contemporary conflicts. Both Russia and Ukraine have been deploying hundreds of drones weekly, and Iran’s Shahed suicide drones, further developed by Russia, have been used to attack U.S. forces in the Middle East. Ukraine's advancements in drone technology have also led to requests from Middle Eastern nations seeking assistance in developing their own UAV and counter-UAV capabilities.