Soldiers from across the Army put their drone skills to the test this week during the inaugural Army Best Drone Warfighter Competition at the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s UAS and Counter UAS Test Range.
The three day event, held Feb. 17 to 19, brought together active duty, Reserve and National Guard soldiers selected as the top drone operators from their divisions, corps, special operations and training commands. The competition is sponsored by the Army Aviation Association of America in coordination with the U.S. Army Aviation and Maneuver Centers of Excellence.
Operating under the theme “Agile, Adaptive, Lethal,” the event featured three simultaneous competition lanes designed to test speed, tactical skill and innovation.
In the Best Operator lane, soldiers raced identical first person view drones through a timed course, competing head-to-head to demonstrate precision flying and advanced maneuvering skills.
The Best Tactical Hunter Killer Team lane paired two person teams who conducted mission planning before completing a physically demanding ruck march to a launch site. From there, teams deployed intelligence gathering drones to identify targets and then launched additional drones to engage them, all under timed conditions.
The Best Innovation lane highlighted soldier designed capabilities. Teams presented locally built drone systems in a Shark Tank style pitch to a panel of Army and academic experts before demonstrating their drone in flight.
All drones used in the competition were required to be compliant with the National Defense Authorization Act. Organizers said the goal is to strengthen what military leaders call “drone dominance” by bringing together front line operators, industry partners and academic institutions.
Awards were presented to top operators and teams, with Army Drone Team leaders on site to evaluate competitors and extend invitations to join the Army’s official drone team.
The competition aligns with other annual Army excellence events such as Best Ranger and Best Sapper, and organizers expect it to become a recurring Army wide event in the years ahead.
