The U.S.
Army took an action towards incorporating killer drones into its battlefield techniques after it dropped live grenades from the air at a training location in Germany last week.Members of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee Army National Guard on Wednesday ended up being the very first conventional soldiers to detonate an M67 fragmentation grenade from a drone-borne dropper, Army officials on site said.The plastic gadget, referred to as Audible, was connected to the undercarriage of a Skydio X10D drone that assaulted a simulated vehicle convoy at the Grafenwoehr Training Area.On Wednesday, 1st Lt.
David Baker checked Audibles dropper gadget.
He then attached a hand grenade, making certain the pin was in the proper position to be pulled.
He got rid of the safety clip and the drone was airborne.A Skydio X10D drone flies with a dummy M67 grenade round throughout an inaugural test at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, on June 25, 2025.
(Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)Major Phillip Draper saw from a tv screen in a neighboring control tower as the drone flew towards 3 simulated stationary lorries.
The falling grenade struck ideal next to the lead vehicles guest side.It was a successful test, Draper stated.
Ideally we can construct on this and make it better and then get those results to the warfighter.After that test, though, the Audible broken in a tough landing and a 3D-printed variation made by soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade completed with inert rounds for extra drone test flights.
The successes and failures each provide valuable data.
Within a couple of hours of the test and crash-landing, the Combat Capabilities Development Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., had been notified and 7 more devices were on the way.Were dropping a routine ordnance that every soldier would carry in battle, stated civilian David Oeschger, deputy of operations for the 7th Army Training Command, which hosted the test.
Weve learned well from the Ukrainians and the Russians on how we are going to use this system in the next fight.U.S.
soldiers enjoy a Skydio X10D drone take flight at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, on June 25, 2025, throughout an inaugural test of the drones ability to drop M67 grenades.
(Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)Dropping grenades with drone-mounted devices like Audible will become a part of regular Army training within months, Oeschger stated.
The U.S.
Army, which trains Ukrainian soldiers at areas including Grafenwoehr, upgraded its battling teaching in 2015 due to lessons discovered in Ukraine.
The service now seeks to continuously evolve and utilize movement, speed, deceptiveness and technology.The capability of little, off-the-shelf drones to carry munitions to strike personnel, armor and command posts has considerably altered military method and tactics.More tests are prepared for the Audible, which was established by the Maryland-based command.This actually expands the toolbox, being able to go out and reach targets beyond the front line of troops and putting that at the lowest level, Baker said.Top Photo: Spc.
Michael Fish, an unmanned aerial systems operator with 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, connects a 3D-printed munitions dropper to a Skydio X10D drone at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany on June 25, 2025, throughout a test in which soldiers dropped live M67 grenades from the drone.
(Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)Source: Stars & & Stripes