• US Army soldiers experimented with drones at a recent exercise in the Mojave Desert.
• Troops said that the drones offered them new capabilities, extending their sight and reach.
• But temperature, connectivity, and equipment proved challenging.

Two US Army 4th Infantry Division soldiers sat on the barren desert earth at Fort Irwin, California. One wore first-person-view goggles and held a drone controller. The other watched the drone's feed on a laptop.

After a few moments of setup, the Neros Archer lifted off, the buzz loud up close and still audible at a distance. The small aircraft made a short flight before returning to the launch point and circling overhead. Then, hovering about a foot above the ground, the operator cut the power. The drone dropped silently.

The demonstration only lasted a few minutes, but it offered a glimpse into a much larger Army experiment with drones. As part of the service's massive transformation initiative, the Army is working to flood the force with small uncrewed aerial systems to prepare soldiers for future wars

Throughout the exercise, soldiers described learning, often through trial and error, what it actually takes to use drones in the field, including when to launch them, how to keep them flying in punishing conditions, what equipment to carry, and how operating them fits alongside troops' existing jobs.

Drones are bringing new capabilities to the fight

In the desert, Business Insider observed soldiers using a mix of drone technology in demonstrations and simulated combat, including the Archer first-person-view drone, Anduril's Bolt-M, Teledyne FLIR Defense's Rogue I, and Teal Drones' Black Widow. Some soldiers had multiple systems at their disposal and were weighing the pros and cons of each.

The consensus on the positives during the experimentation exercise was that drones could help soldiers spot enemy vehicles or positions and decide how to respond.

"Now my capabilities are just exponentially increasing. I can see further. I can continuously see," Capt. Dominic Sparkling, a unit commander within the 4th ID, said.

Many warfighting lessons can be learned from Ukraine, where both Moscow and Kyiv's forces have used drones as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance tools to extend what they can see on the field of battle, as well as attack options for striking enemy targets. Some drones are one-way attack systems, while others used in the war drop munitions rather than detonating on target, making the systems reusable for future missions.

Some of the uncrewed systems at Fort Irwin featured interchangeable payloads that could be used to see, sense, and, if needed, strike an enemy with an explosive or fragmentation round.

Depending on the situation, certain payloads could either be launched from the drone or require the drone itself to be expended in the attack. Cpl. Emiliano Lopez, one of the Rogue I operators, said using drones meant soldiers didn't have to dismount as often because they can use them to extend their sight and reach.

The two soldiers operating the Archer told Business Insider that they had recently completed the monthlong training course for that particular drone and had logged flight time in another class.

"Just being able to go out to the field and test these, we've seen the worst scenarios of these things, and we've seen the best," Specialist Christopher Frank, who was flying the drone, said, citing problems like loss of connection and physical damage.

The soldier watching the Archer's feed on the laptop, called the spotter, served as a second pair of eyes and a guide for the pilot. Sgt. Gabe Tedro assisted Frank and retrieved the drone when it was powered down. Frank and Tedro were the only two scouts in their platoon qualified to use the Archer, though more troops were preparing for future drone courses.

During simulated combat, soldiers using drones often set up on a mountain at their observation post. They'd position a tripod to relay the drone's signal and keep their equipment plugged in and ready in case they got a call from their commander to launch a drone.

Then, "all it takes is just putting a battery on and tightening the nuts on the rotors, and then we're sending it," Frank said.

Beyond UAVs, the Army was also testing uncrewed ground vehicles. Soldiers had used one, the NOMAD, more than a dozen times for logistics and resupply missions. Sgt. 1st Class Alex Alcantar called it "extremely useful," saying it reduced the risk to troops on dangerous runs.

Punishing conditions reveal challenges

As troops experimented with the systems in the Mojave Desert, they also ran into challenges and unknowns.

Operators told Business Insider that they weren't pushing their drones in the hot weather, avoiding further distances or long flight times in order to prevent overheating.

"The heat's been a very big thing when it comes to this drone in particular," Sgt. Ramontez Bennett said, describing the Bolt-M. Bennett said the temperature limited how long he could fly the drone and prompted him to keep it moving rather than hover in the air, because "the longer you keep it around in the air, it's gonna overheat."

The heat caused problems ranging from overheating hardware to reduced battery life. Soldiers improvised some solutions to cool other technology involved in operating the systems, Army leaders told reporters after the exercise. In one example, troops covered an antenna with a T-shirt soaked in ice water.

None of the drones that Business Insider saw were connected to Next Generation Command and Control, or NGC2, the Army's new prototype warfighting system, which officials have said is intended to connect drones and weapons across the network.

Army leaders said many of the drones weren't connected because vendors were still working toward interoperability requirements with NGC2. In some cases, the drones in use were not yet formal Army programs.

In other situations, troops were navigating connectivity problems caused by simulated enemy jamming, desert ridges, and heavy winds. Frank and others said that connection issues, such as static blurring the drone's camera feed, can come from a range of factors like frequency problems, weather conditions, location, and geography.

Like many drones, the Archer and Rogue I have a "return to home" function should they lose connection with their operators.

But other systems, like the NOMAD ground robot, didn't have that fallback option. Instead, it stopped where it was when it lost connection and required a soldier to go out and retrieve it. The rocky terrain also reduced the NOMAD's range, cutting it in half as the vehicle traveled over ridges.

Another challenge was deciding what to carry into the field. Concerns about the added weight and gear came up repeatedly, and soldiers said the trade-offs depended on time, capability, and conditions. If troops needed to move quickly and quietly, that could limit their loadout.

"That's the trade-off," Lt. Col. Shawn Scott, a unit commander within the 4th ID, said. "That's the balance, and it's always going to be hard to find."

Frank and Tedro said that at one point, they had received an order to ready their drone while riding in the back of a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. Setting it all up inside the vehicle was risky because a bumpy ride can damage some parts of the system.

They said they'd learned tricks in the field, like leaving the drone case behind when they went up to the observation post because it added unnecessary weight, and carrying only a few batteries while keeping the rest in the Bradley.

Those small adjustments were part of a larger process of figuring out just how drones fit into the way soldiers actually fight. Army leaders said soldier feedback from the exercise was critical for assessing how systems performed. Vendors weren't present in the field with soldiers, but some troops said they'd received cheat sheets from companies to reference if they ran into problems.

• The US Army and industry partners are making drones, sensors, and weapons talk to one another.
• Decades-old barriers prevented systems from connecting, forcing personnel to be the link.
• Lessons from Ukraine and the Army's new warfighting software have inspired the changes.

US Army leaders are trying to break down the decades-old technology barriers that have kept weapons, sensors, and command systems from easily sharing information, a critical step as the service pushes to make battlefield decisions faster.

A recent exercise, the Project Jailbreak hackathon, brought top defense companies and the Army together to connect counter-drone systems, air and missile defenses, command systems, drones and uncrewed systems, and other weapons, getting these disparate systems speaking the same language.

Updates were made and are already being pushed out to soldiers, including those deployed in the Middle East.

"If you're not a technologist, think about your daily life. Imagine if every accessory you have — light bulbs, toaster, TVs — had a different way to connect," Alex Miller, the Army's chief technology officer, told reporters on Thursday. Imagine "your toaster didn't plug into the outlet," he said, and "you had to find a special adapter."

That condition is what the Army's dealt with for decades, forcing soldiers to be what Miller described as the "integration point" between different systems, "which does not scale well if you are cold, tired, wet, and hungry operating on 20-hour days." Troops would have to manually input data for battlefield decision-making, spending more time going back and forth between all the different systems.

That slows the decision-making process when speed matters.

The service's new approach builds on the Army's commercial software-inspired approach to developing its new command and control system, as well as lessons from Ukraine.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said that the "aha" moment for the hackathon came after seeing how Ukraine integrated drones, sensors, and weapons into its battle management program Delta during a trip in Germany.

"A lightbulb went off," he said. "Everything I had seen over the previous 16 months was simply not as integrated, simple, or effective for the warfighter. I realized we had to move right now."

Defense firms Anduril, Boeing, General Dynamics, L3Harris, Leidos, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Palantir, Perennial Autonomy, and RTX were all apart of the hackathon. Engineers from the firms came together with the Army, cracked open the technologies behind their systems, and began sorting out how to have them talk to one another.

While some vendors have done this before, this was the first time the Army had approached the problem at this scale and taken on the older technical standards that shaped how those systems connect.

"We crippled our partners by stating their systems were classified at inception, which impedes modern development practices, and mandating they interface directly with decades-old standards instead of implementing new technology," Miller said.

Some fixes have already been sent to soldiers, including forces in the Middle East. Miller said the Army's goal is to have the rest deployed within the next 30 days. Future hackathons will bring in other weapons, like long-range precision fires. And the Army will start applying these approaches to the new systems it acquires.

"This is the foundation," Brent Ingraham, assistant Army secretary for acquisition, logistics, and technology, said. "As we go beyond the scope of this sprint in integrated air and missile defense and get into fires, current ground vehicles, and intel platforms, we will perform similar functions to ensure backward compatibility."

Over the past year, the Army has undergone rapid transformation as it adopts new weapons, commercial software development practices, and tries to break down data silos, the isolated systems that prevent information from moving quickly across the force. A leading program in this effort has been Next Generation Command and Control, the service's new warfighting software.

NGC2, which has been in continual development with both the Army's 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson in Colorado and the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii, uses open architecture, meaning it is designed so new tools from different vendors can be added more easily. NGC2 has also helped the Army move data faster and add automated tools for tasks such as estimating ammunition needs.

Army leaders have said the speed of future war will require technology that can be updated quickly, features more streamlined communications between different weapons and systems, and employs artificial intelligence to help match pace and relieve some cognitive load for soldiers sorting through the data.

• The Army's defense industry partners put a rocket launcher on a resupply drone in a recent test.
• The tech could give the drone a lethal payload and soldiers a precision-kill option at range.
• Military leaders want drones that can quickly swap payloads, including weapons.

Defense industry operators recently tested whether a resupply drone could not only carry a rocket launcher but also fire it. The test at Fort Rucker showed a potential lethal loadout for a US Army logistics drone, the service said Tuesday.

The TRV 150 drone made by Survice Engineering Company is already used by the Marine Corps and Army for logistics missions. With a three-shot rocket launcher on board — similar in some respects to what the Ukrainians have done — ground forces could use this drone to strike at range.

Last week, Survice Engineering paired the TRV 150 resupply drone with BAE Systems' Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System during an exercise at Fort Rucker in Alabama. Both defense industry partners and US military officials attended the event.

The TR150 has been described by Survice engineers as the "pickup truck" of the sky. It can carry up to 150 pounds, it has ports for various payloads, and it features autonomous calculations for flight, range, and targeting.

The TRV 150's autonomy simplifies much of the work in operating it, such as finding the target, plotting a route, and telling the pilot when it's ready to drop its payload.

This recent test looked at a different use for the drone: carrying and firing APKWS-guided 70mm rockets.

The APKWS is already used on AH-64 Apache helicopters and "other more exquisite assets," Clark Dutterner, Survice Engineering's vice president of business development, said, per an Army release. Those platforms include other helicopters and fighter aircraft.

During the exercise, the Army and its partners tested how the drone handled the rocket launcher and reacted when firing.

Putting the launcher on a tactical drone gives troops some of the striking power of a helicopter without putting aircrews at risk. These drones could switch from logistics to attack depending on the mission.

US military officials at the exercise said that the testing helped anticipate the potential future needs of soldiers. Leaders have also mandated that all uncrewed aerial systems have lethal payload options, meaning that troops will consistently have that weapon in their arsenal.

Swappable payloads have become a Pentagon priority as the services experiment with and field more drones for different missions. US military leaders have been drawing key lessons from Ukraine, where troops rely on a wide mix of drones and payloads tailored to the mission, terrain, and threat.

• US Marines tested deploying and controlling FPV drones from helicopters.
• They also passed control of a drone launched by ground forces to a helicopter miles away.
• These practices could deliver advantages in combat for Marines.

US Marines have been trying out new roles for their H-1 helicopters, exploring whether they can serve as airborne launch and control platforms for first-person-view drones.

The concepts combine crewed and uncrewed capabilities, using helicopters to extend the reach of small, low-cost drones, giving Marines another way to strike targets without pushing aircraft as deep into contested airspace.

During a recent training exercise in California, Marines tested whether their helicopters could serve as "airborne motherships" for launching and FPV drones and aerial command centers for controlling them, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said in a release.

For the testing, Marines from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 and 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion used two modern H-1 helicopters: the UH-1Y Venom utility helicopter, which entered service in 2008 as an upgrade to the UH-1N Twin Huey, and the AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter, which replaced the AH-1 SuperCobra.

At the Twentynine Palms testing event, Marines successfully deployed an FPV drone from a moving helicopter.

Marines also practiced handing off control to a distant helicopter with a line-of-sight connection. After Marine ground forces got their Neros Archer FPV drone flying, control of the uncrewed aircraft was passed to a specialized operator team inside a UH-1Y Venom helicopter miles away. That helicopter maintained the connection and flew the drone on to its target, functioning as a "flying command post" and "aerial control station."

The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said that these approaches offer "commanders a scalable, cost-effective option to service a wide range of threats without risking the aircraft or expending expensive munitions on every target."

The Neros Archer is the most popular first-person-view drone in the Marine Corps infantry. Necros has a $17 million contract with the Marines to build thousands of drones and has also produced systems for Ukraine.

Like many FPV drones, the Archer can carry different payloads, and how far it can fly depends partly on how much weight it is carrying. The Marines used it for the test because it is already widely used and has performed well.

Launching and controlling FPV drones from helicopters has the potential to reduce the risk to Marine aircrews, a UH-1Y crew chief said. "We are still providing our ground support, and close air support, but in a way that lets the drones close with and destroy the enemy, rather than putting our Marines in harm's way," said Sgt. Matthew Pocklington.

More drones aboard the helicopters could allow onboard operators to potentially swarm the systems in coordinated attacks.

Beyond the Marines' latest test, the US is more broadly focused on manned-unmanned teaming. The US Air Force and US Navy have several projects in the works that have advanced drones flying alongside crewed aircraft, either operating autonomously or taking direction from human pilots.

• The Navy and Boeing conducted the first test flight of the MQ-25A Stingray over the weekend.
• The Stingray is a drone designed for air-to-air refueling.
• The drone will eventually extend the range of crewed aircraft and free up aircraft for combat.

A new US Navy carrier-based drone for refueling aircraft has begun flight testing with the first flight of a production-representative aircraft, the service announced, marking a key step toward bringing uncrewed systems into the refueling role.

The Navy says that the MQ-25A Stingray is the first operational carrier-based uncrewed aircraft system. Made by Boeing, the Stingray's first test flight moves it closer to aircraft carrier operations and the refueling mission expected to extend the reach of crewed aircraft. The Stingray's timeline to service has been repeatedly delayed.

The Navy and Boeing announced the first test flight on Monday. The April 25 test was not the first-ever flight of the MQ-25 concept, but it was the first test of a production-representative aircraft as the Navy starts up formal flight testing ahead of eventual service.

Over the weekend, the MQ-25A flew for approximately two hours at Boeing's facility in Illinois and was controlled by Navy and Boeing air vehicle pilots via a ground control system. During the flight, the Stingray conducted several maneuvers and tests and demonstrated flight controls and navigation.

"Today's successful flight builds on years of learning from our MQ-25A T1 prototype and represents a major maturation of the program," Dan Gillian, vice president and general manager of Boeing Air Dominance, said, per a press release.

The sea service's Stingray is a planned uncrewed replacement for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet's air-to-air refueling role within carrier air wings. The Navy has said the drone's job will help extend the operational range of aircraft and free them up to focus on combat and surveillance roles.

The MQ-25 can carry up to 15,000 pounds of fuel and could help the Navy rethink the ranges of its aircraft carriers and fighters as China's growing arsenal of anti-ship missiles threatens US naval forces.

"The MQ-25A is not just an aircraft," Rear Adm. Tony Rossi, head of the program executive office for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, said, per the Navy's press release.

He said that "it's the first step in integrating unmanned aerial refueling onto the carrier deck, directly enabling our manned fighters to fly further and faster. This capability is vital to the future of naval aviation."

The Navy began work on the MQ-25 in 2016, selected Boeing for production in 2018, and the Navy and Boeing flew a test asset for the first time the following year. The most recent flight test is the first for the MQ-25A, a production-design aircraft different from the earlier MQ-25 T1 test asset.

The MQ-25 T1 test drone previously showed off its refueling capabilities in 2021, flying in front of an F/A-18 and getting as close as 20 feet to the aircraft before extending the hose and drogue to plug into the fighter to transfer the fuel.

The service has navigated several delays and cost increases to the Stingray, which was originally supposed to be operational in 2024 but is now set to enter into service later this decade.

• Twelve defense companies have been picked for initial work on space-based interceptors for the US' Golden Dome.
• These interceptors are the costliest and most complex parts of Golden Dome.
• Officials and analysts are questioning whether interceptors are feasible at scale.

The Department of Defense has picked a dozen companies to develop space-based interceptors for Golden Dome, moving forward amid concerns the technology might be too expensive to field.

Golden Dome is the Trump administration's proposed missile defense system to counter threats from foes like Russia and China. The design includes space-based missile interceptors, but military leaders and analysts have raised concerns about the cost.

Last week, Space Force's Space Systems Command said 12 defense companies had been selected in late 2025 and earlier this year for Other Transaction Authority agreements, early-stage research and prototype work with fewer regulatory constraints.

The combined award value is up to $3.2 billion, and the industry partners selected include big names like Anduril, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman, along with firms such as Booz Allen Hamilton and Turion Space Corp.

These companies will work on prototypes for Golden Dome's space-based missile interceptors, armed low-Earth orbit satellites designed to counter ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles across multiple phases of flight, the Space Force said.

Col. Bryon McClain, the Space Force program executive officer for space combat power, said in a release on the selection that "adversary capabilities are advancing rapidly, and our acquisition strategies must move even faster to counter the growing speed and maneuverability of modern missile threats."

"With the commitment and collaboration of these industry partners, the Space Force will demonstrate an initial capability in 2028."

But other officials have questioned whether these capabilities will be affordable. Earlier this month, Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, director for the Golden Dome program, acknowledged that satellites built to shoot down enemy missiles might never be feasible.

"What we do not know today is: 'Can I do it at scale and can I do it affordably? That's going to be the huge challenge for boost-phase intercept," Guetlein told the House Armed Services Strategic Forces committee.

"I will tell you because we are so focused on affordability. If we cannot do it affordably, we will not go into production," the head of Space Force added.

Space-based interceptors aren't necessarily the only game in town though, he indicated, telling Congress that "if boost-phase intercept from space is not affordable and scalable, we will not produce it because we have other options to get after it."

Golden Dome's current estimated price tag sits at $185 billion, about $10 billion more than President Donald Trump first estimated when discussing Golden Dome's total cost last May.

The Congressional Budget Office has put the projected total at anywhere between $161 billion and half a trillion dollars for launching and operating a full constellation of space-based interceptors for 20 years.

The cost projections vary depending on the number of interceptors the US deploys. Analysts have suggested that space-based interceptors may not fit within the program's cost and requirements given the mission. When Trump issued an executive order to build Golden Dome in January 2025, the order said it must counter "ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks from peer, near-peer, and rogue adversaries."

Per an American Enterprise Institute paper from September 2025 by senior fellow Todd Harrison, a simulated Golden Dome architecture that best fits those requirements is estimated to cost $3.6 trillion over 20 years. In contrast, AEI's simulated designs that better fit the Trump administration's budget don't provide the defensive capabilities being promised, "creating a multi-trillion-dollar gap between rhetoric and reality," the paper said.

"The more threats Golden Dome is designed to counter, and the broader its coverage, capacity, and resilience, the higher the cost. Even small shifts in objectives can produce outsized changes in cost, and the largest cost driver by far is space-based interceptors," Harrison wrote.

Golden Dome also presents a shift toward further weaponizing space. Experts say that while the US sees Golden Dome as necessary, it could accelerate an arms race. That could include systems designed to target the interceptors, missiles that evade defenses, or larger missile arsenals to overwhelm the system.

Some US officials have pointed to China and Russia's existing counterspace capabilities as evidence that space is already contested. China and Russia have both criticized the Golden Dome plan as a potential catalyst for a space arms race while simultaneously advancing their respective missile and anti-space programs.

• US Air Force A-10 Warthogs were part of the rescue operation for downed airmen in Iran.
• The A-10s were in a "Sandy" role supporting search and rescue.
• The Air Force has pushed for the retirement of its A-10 fleet, deeming them obsolete.

US Air Force A-10 Warthogs, decades-old attack aircraft the service has been pushing into retirement, were part of the risky rescue missions to retrieve downed American airmen in Iran.

The Warthogs flew in their "Sandy" roles, supporting search and rescue while engaging in close-in battles at low altitudes. The rescue marks the latest involvement of the A-10 in the US war in Iran despite the Air Force's plans to imminently shelve its remaining fleet.

Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shared details on the aircraft used in the mission during a Monday briefing on the rescue of the pilot and weapon systems officer after an F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran last week.

Caine said that a task force including A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, commonly called Warthogs, "audaciously penetrated enemy territory in broad daylight" to rescue the F-15E pilot. "This was an incredibly dangerous mission," he added, sharing the task force faced Iranian fire while locating and retrieving the downed pilot.

In the operation, the A-10s, along with other aircraft, including drones, flew in so-called "Sandy" roles, "violently suppressing and engaging the enemy in a close-in gunfight" to draw attention away from the rescue activities, as well as keep the enemy at bay.

During the engagement, one A-10 aircraft was hit by enemy fire. The pilot flew it into friendly airspace but determined that they wouldn't be able to land it. The pilot ejected as the plane went down. They were recovered safely.

"A 'Sandy' has one mission: get to the survivor, bring the rescue force forward, and put themselves between that survivor on the ground and the enemy," Caine said.

The "Sandy" role originated during the Vietnam War as the call sign for A-1 Skyraiders leading combat search-and-rescue missions. These aircraft located downed airmen, coordinated rescue efforts, and suppressed enemy fire to protect helicopters.

As the A-1 retired, the Sandy role — a mission, not a platform — passed to aircraft like the A-10 Warthog.

These “Sandy" aircraft are part of the larger CSAR package, which includes HH-60 helicopters and highly trained rescue personnel, HC-130 refueling tankers, fighter escorts, and intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance assets.

"The A-10 force and the rescue force did a fantastic job," Caine said Monday. Earlier in the war, the top general highlighted the involvement of Warthogs in hunting down Iranian fast-attack boats in the Strait of Hormuz.

The A-10's days are, however, numbered. The Air Force is planning the aircraft's retirement, though it has run into roadblocks. Congressional intervention has repeatedly thrown the attack plane a lifeline and prevented the service from fully retiring the entire fleet. There are over 160 Warthogs in service.

Pushing for the retirement of the fleet, Air Force leadership has previously argued that "the aircraft does not deter or survive against our pacing challenge," a reference to China. The service has been looking into whether F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters can fulfill the A-10's missions, such as close-air support. Supporters of the A-10 argue no other aircraft can currently fulfill its missions.

The A-10 was introduced in the 1970s and intended to be a tank-killer capable of blunting a Soviet armored assault. It can carry rockets, missiles, and bombs, but is best known for its 30mm GAU-8 Avenger seven-barrel Gatling-style autocannon.