The Army's new drone competition is really a talent hunt. It's scouting out what makes a top drone pilot.

"Rather than training every soldier to fly drones, the Army is using competition to identify the skill sets of top drone operators and whether there are specific roles within units that would make the most sense for working with uncrewed aerial systems. The effort reflects a broader shift from treating drone flying as something for all soldiers to approaching it as a specialized skill set that requires the right aptitude, training, and sustained practice."

"The inaugural drone competition took place this week at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, gathering teams from across active, Reserve, and National Guard units. There were no requirements on what types of soldiers could participate or where they came from. Rather, "it was just send your best UAS operators," Col. Nicholas Ryan, director of Army UAS Transformation at the Aviation Center of Excellence, told reporters, prompting a mix of operators with different backgrounds and expertise."

"Over three days, soldiers competed in multiple events, testing their piloting skills. The first was an obstacle course that operators navigated using first-person-view drones. The second was a hunter-killer scenario in which teams used a reconnaissance drone to survey an array of targets and decide which were highest priority for simulated strikes with one-way attack drones. The competition didn't involve any kinetic strikes; instead, soldiers flew the drones into nets on the targets."

The Army used a Best Drone Warfighter competition to identify which criteria produce top drone pilots and to shape training requirements. Teams from active, Reserve, and National Guard units competed without eligibility restrictions. Events tested piloting, reconnaissance-to-strike decision-making, and team coordination with first-person-view and one-way attack drones flown into nets. The effort prioritizes finding specialized operators with the right aptitude, training, and sustained practice rather than teaching drone flying to all soldiers. Results will inform how units assign roles, tailor training pipelines, and invest in skills that support sustained unmanned aerial systems operations.

Read at Business Insider