{"id":49059,"date":"2026-05-08T00:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T00:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2026\/05\/08\/as-the-us-army-adds-drones-to-formations-heres-how-one-base-trains-its-operators\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:24:18","slug":"as-the-us-army-adds-drones-to-formations-heres-how-one-base-trains-its-operators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/unmanned\/2026\/05\/08\/as-the-us-army-adds-drones-to-formations-heres-how-one-base-trains-its-operators\/","title":{"rendered":"As the US Army adds drones to formations, here\u2019s how one base trains its operators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FORT STEWART, Ga. \u2014 A futuristic whirr from the skies cut through the quiet of an unusually cool Georgia afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In stationary concentration, a soldier<\/a> moved only his fingers as he steered a small device<\/a> through plastic pipes arranged into a makeshift obstacle course built to qualify soldiers on a tool that has quickly changed the course of modern warfare: drones<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unmanned<\/a> aircraft shape nearly every part of the battlefields today, from reconnaissance and artillery spotting to precision strikes and surveillance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the U.S. Army<\/a> moves to integrate drones into each formation, units across the force are figuring out how to teach, train and test soldiers on rapidly evolving technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Fort Stewart<\/a>, that effort has morphed into a homegrown schoolhouse that is designed to push drone operators beyond their comfort zone and into a stressful state of sweaty palms and elevated heart rates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marne Unmanned Center of Excellence, which became operational in March, moves soldiers through academic instruction, virtual simulators and increasingly challenging flight tests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The classroom<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The center starts with classroom instruction on airspace rules and flight controls. Before soldiers can send a drone into the air, they spend time at a desk, fiddling with controllers hooked up to laptops. For weeks, instead of shooting rifles, soldiers become engrossed in virtual reality scenes reminiscent of video games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They learn to toggle the controllers to send their virtual drones through windows and under sallyports. They learn to navigate when the line of sight is lost or video quality diminished. They learn to attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soldiers spend 40 to 50 hours operating virtual drones before touching a real unmanned aircraft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Stewart also hosts a 60-seat collective trainer, where each individual operates their own laptop while a battlefield view is plastered across a massive screen at the front of the room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drones then become a part of the fight and operators must interact with other capabilities, such as artillery and armored vehicles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flight line<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once soldiers can send a virtual drone through a gauntlet of obstacles, they go outside to try the real thing under the watchful eyes of an expert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a parking lot near the building, one student stood next to his instructor as she looked on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spc. Tyler Lee stared at his controller in deep concentration, periodically looking up to check his drone\u2019s location as he maneuvered it down from the sky. A satisfied smile danced on his face after a successful landing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee grew up playing video games, listing first-person games, like Call of Duty, among his favorites. Those games, he said, helping him pick up operating first-person view, or FPV, drones like the one he was flying. He even bought a commercial drone to improve his skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite completing the academic training and simulators, Lee was modest about his abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m nowhere near proficient,\u201d he said. \u201cI would still consider myself a beginner even though I\u2019ve flown a lot and I\u2019ve got my own [drone].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The drones operated by soliders during training at Fort Stewart on April 27, 2026. (Military Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Staff Sgt. Nway Nway Lwin, Lee\u2019s instructor, said maneuvering a drone around was just the beginning of becoming an expert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For individual qualification training, Lwin said she would have a student focus on basic maneuvers: moving right, left, up, down and through, gathering basic information about the surroundings as they go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they master that, Lwin makes things complicated with real-word scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are doing the recon mission,\u201d she\u2019ll tell students. \u201cThis is your [Named Area of Interest] and this is where you are setting up \u2014 show me the flight plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sky<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Drone operators who have learned basic maneuvering can advance to complicated obstacle courses that are graded on time standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also go into the woods, pushing their skills by flying without being able to see the drone in the sky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of that, Fort Stewart\u2019s drone center has a unique relationship with its air traffic controllers and range control officials. Many drones can reach heights that intersect with crewed aircraft, requiring constant monitoring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other drones are built to explode. Some units use Fort Stewart ranges to practice with one-way attack drones designed to carry explosive payloads that detonate when they crash into a target. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One-way drones are already in use in theaters across the world, according to the base\u2019s range control, and are just another unmanned aircraft skill to master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jonathan Morrison, who helped spearhead the base\u2019s drone training program, said his goal is not just to qualify operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can be qualified, but can you be well qualified?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan you be super confident with your system? And can you be confident enough to go out there and perform any mission at any time, anywhere at a moment\u2019s notice?\u201d Morrison speculated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fort Stewart soldiers are figuring out how to train on unmanned systems after the base stood up the Marne Unmanned Center of Excellence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":111779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":27,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[14,27],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3506],"class_list":["post-49059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-land","category-unmanned"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"C7L3KILLOFD2VEJAIFHJXZUUZU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2026\/05\/08\/as-the-us-army-adds-drones-to-formations-heres-how-one-base-trains-its-operators\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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