Army says paratroopers carried out first armed drone strike at Richardson Training Area

Paratroopers with the 11th Airborne Division's 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team carried out the first kinetic drone strike conducted in the Richardson Training Area, the Army said Tuesday. The strike came during live-fire exercises Sept. 29 and Oct. 19-20 at the training area's Multi-Purpose Training Range.

The Army said paratroopers used armed first-person view drones in the exercises. The brigade says that capability is particularly relevant in Arctic and mountainous country, where challenging terrain, restricted ground movement and degraded line-of-sight communications can complicate combat operations. Armed small drones at the company level give commanders more ways to find targets and deliver precision fire while staying flexible for spread-out operations, the Army said.

"The Kinetic Drone Strike completed on MPTR was the first of its kind in the Richardson Training Area (RTA)," said Capt. Raymond Bartoli, a brigade planner and officer in charge of the live-fire range.

Earlier this year, from April 27 to May 8, 11th Airborne paratroopers ran a company live-fire that included friendly kinetic and strike drones, but the Army said no live munitions were used. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson has also described drone training with simulated explosive payloads.

For the new exercises, the brigade's Multi-Functional Reconnaissance Company, commanded by Capt. Pat Robinson, coordinated the effort with explosive ordnance disposal personnel and small-drone specialists. With support from Capt. Alanna Severt and the explosive ordnance disposal team and brigade drone master trainer Sgt. 1st Class Devin McNamara, operators first flew test flights with unarmed explosive payloads.

"These test flights gave the sUAS Operators feedback on how the explosives' weight impacted the drone's maneuverability," Bartoli said. In the Army's shorthand, sUAS are small unmanned aircraft systems, or small drones.

The reconnaissance company then flew the first live flight and strike, Bartoli said, which allowed the brigade's multi-purpose companies to add the armed drones to their own live-fire exercises. The Army says a multi-purpose company combines specialized combat capabilities at the battalion level.

The drones weren't the only weapons on the range. Sniper teams fired on targets, reconnaissance elements helped identify them, and a gun truck engaged targets with live ammunition.

The Army said the strikes establish a foundation for more armed drone training across the brigade.