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US Army Tests Swarms of Drones In Major Exercise (itworld.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the for-when-you-need-to-drop-some-grenades-but-you-don't-want-to-get-off-the-couch dept.

itwbennett writes: The U.S. Army, curious about the potential threat and usefulness of off-the-shelf drones, brought consumer quadcopters and octocopters to the Network Integration Evaluation war games that concluded earlier this month at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and Fort Bliss, Texas. "During the exercise, which is used by the Army to help evaluate new technology, the drones were deployed as a swarm to simulate a threat,' writes Martyn Williams. 'Later, the Army expanded the trials to discover whether it might be able to make use of the same technology." The results are pretty much what you'd expect: "It has been proved that consumer [drones] can be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, distraction tactics and, in the future, the ability to drop small munitions," said Barry Hatchett with the Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation.

2 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. Also resupply by cmeans · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I could easily see drones being used to resupply both ammo and medical consumables. Heavy duty drones could also possibly be used to ferry the wounded off the field of battle...though I guess it also just makes another target.

    --
    Give a hand, not a hand-out.
  2. Drones a step back wrt medical evacuation by perpenso · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I could easily see drones being used to resupply both ammo and medical consumables. Heavy duty drones could also possibly be used to ferry the wounded off the field of battle...though I guess it also just makes another target.

    The current medevac helicopters with white and red international medical evacuation markings are already targets for some enemies. The problem with the drone is that medevac (unarmed, marked) and casevac (armed, unmarked) aircraft not only provide quick transportation but also have medics and corpsmen (Navy medical personnel that go into combat with Marines) onboard to provide treatment during the flight. Drones would be a step back to WW2 and Korean War days where helicopters could only provide transportation.

    Maybe a hybrid approach. If the landing zone is hot (under fire) medevac/casevac land somewhere "safe" nearby and the drones only ferry the wounded to them. Hopefully only a few blocks in an urban environment, 1/4 mile in undeveloped terrain?