US Army drones launched from a ground robot strike a target on their own in Germany

Drones launched from an uncrewed ground vehicle struck a target autonomously in a US Army live-fire demonstration at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany on 12 November. The Army is testing whether drones and ground robots can let units strike farther away, keep soldiers out of danger and give commanders cheaper options.

A TRV-150 drone dropped smoke on the target, and an HIV3 launcher on a R3NEGADE ground vehicle then sent up the drones that made the strike. Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade carried out a separate strike with an FPV drone, flown by video from its camera. A second R3NEGADE carried a Javelin missile on a remote weapon station.

The DEVCOM Armaments Center ran the event with US Army Europe and Africa and the 7th Army Training Command. The Army also showed a TRV-400 drone with the FIR3FLY anti-armour system in development, part of a system that keeps drones in containers and launches them remotely.

“We need scalable, cheap, affordable, lethal options for our warfighters,” said Troy Brannon, a strategic adviser at the Armaments Center who led the event.