11th Airborne debuts 'Angel Ascent' drone-innovation pitch contest at JBER

The 11th Airborne Division launched its inaugural Angel Ascent innovation competition at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a Shark Tank-style pitch event designed to surface soldier-driven solutions for Arctic operations. The program is planned to run biannually, alternating between JBER and Fort Wainwright.

The competition brought soldiers from across the division, including junior enlisted soldiers, warrant officers, and officers, before a panel of senior leaders and subject-matter experts that included representatives from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the 673rd Air Base Wing, DEVCOM, and the U.S. Army Arctic Regions Test Center. Concepts pitched covered cold-weather power solutions, advanced load carriage systems, and new approaches to Arctic sustainment, all aimed at improving Arctic mobility, survivability, and mission effectiveness.

The top award went to WO1 Brian Raab of the 2nd Battalion, 11th Airborne Division Multi-Functional Reconnaissance Company. His concept, called Wardrive, is a passive reconnaissance small unmanned aerial system payload that detects adversary wireless emissions and automatically uploads and reports location data to the operator.

Maj. Gen. John P. Cogbill, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, framed the event as a development pipeline rather than a one-off contest. "The hardest part of today was picking a winner, because every Soldier who stepped into the arena to pitch their idea is a winner," Cogbill said. "Each of these innovative solutions will be prioritized in our division's innovation plan. My promise is that every one of these ideas will continue to move forward because we want to see them scale and make a difference on the ground."

All pitched concepts, not only Wardrive, are to enter the division's formal innovation plan for further development. The 11th Airborne Division is oriented toward Arctic and Indo-Pacific missions and is headquartered at both JBER and Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks. Angel Ascent is set to run biannually, alternating between those two installations, embedding the program into the division's standing calendar.