Unmanned Aerial Vehicle The latest drone news
British soldiers are being trained to become kamikaze drone pilots after earning a place at Strategic Command’s new jHub Drone Academy.
Using First Person View (FPV) Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), troops are learning how to use these one-way aircraft to deliver munitions onto targets.
The Ukrainian armed forces have been using similar tactics against Russian military vehicles with good effect.
Soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade ran a screening session at Merville Barracks in Colchester to find troops among its existing UAS pilots with the aptitude to join the jHub Drone Academy and develop their skills.
“This is a military skill that we can develop through a competitive hobby,” said Sergeant Adam Barnes of 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment.
Lance Corporal Morgan McConnell, of 3 Para, who took part in training in Estonia with reconnaissance drones, said: “Flying drones is something that I enjoy, and it’s been a different skill to develop.
“The Parrot [drone] has basically got an autopilot and you can be reasonably confident at flying it within a few hours.
“FPV takes a lot more effort and skill because you’ve got total control of it, and it’s going to take time to get to the stage of flying it instinctively.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge and it’s interesting to be working on a technology that is developing, particularly when it gets to adding munitions into what we’re doing.”
British soldiers are now being trained to fly FPV UAS and are being issued with the Parrot and Black Hornet drones to use for reconnaissance.
Each soldier must complete a three-week course to qualify as a pilot. These machines originated in drone racing, but can be flown via a laptop.
Under Strategic Command, jHub aims to increase the Armed Forces’ capabilities through the faster adoption of innovative technology.
Working with the Army’s Combat Manoeuvre Centre, the Drone Academy project has developed and delivered a distributed training solution for FPV flying for all three services.
As well as piloting the drones, the British Army is also training with the SmartShooter SMASH (Smart Weapon Sight Fire Control System) to shoot down UAV threats.
