Fort Sill soldiers receive special training to combat drones

FORT SILL, Okla. (KSWO) - Friday morning about a dozen troops with the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Fort Sill took part in a specialized training that was centered around drones.

What makes it special? The new types of equipment soldiers will be using wherever the fight may take them.

For instance, the sights on the M4 rifles aren’t just any scope, they come equipped with a targeting computer that tracks small airborne targets, like drones.

The sights are designed to help soldiers who use them be able to fire more frequently and accurately from a longer distance.

Something one soldier from the battalion says he is thankful for.

“It takes most of the guess work out,” says Pfc. Adam Shoemaker

“So as with like a normal gun, if you’re trying to lead a target, say like on a moving drone for example, you’d have to kind of like aim and space in front of it and hope you’re in the right area, where the computer will take all the calculations to try to figure that out for you.”

The training that is being implemented is in an effort to adapt to what Ukrainian soldiers are facing overseas, and what’s becoming all too common place on the modern battle-ground.

The main method of combat is becoming heavily reliant on drones.

The new form of fighting means everyone, not just infantry, need to be trained on how to combat the new threat.

“It’s not going to be just for our operators, our planning, our leadership,” said Jennifer Smith, Director of the Joint Counter Small Unmanned Aircrafts University who is helping with the training. “They’re going to have to learn how to plan for defense designs and take into account UAV’s as well.”

One special piece of equipment that will not only help with drones but those UAVs too is simply known as the “Drone Buster”.

The weapon acts as a jammer to the drone, cutting off the signal from the drone operator to the unit itself; eliminating the threat.

Maj. Kent Tomah says eliminating the connection between drone and operator makes the drone an easier target for troops on the ground.

“Through electronic means, the ‘Drone Buster’ is able to basically stop a drone in its tracks so that we can fire upon it with our weapons system through kinetic means.”

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