▲ Ukrainian forces prepare for a mid-range drone attack.
US and Ukrainian forces clashed at a military training ground in Germany this past April and May.
It was the "Combined Resolve" joint exercise, held biannually.
The US forces acted as the attacking side against opposing positions.
A total of 3,500 troops from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, rotationally deployed to Germany, were mobilized.
Armored units equipped with electronic warfare and drone-attack equipment maneuvered under the support of helicopters and drones.
The opposing force (OPFOR) tasked with defending against them was played by Ukraine.
The backbone was formed by drone operators from Ukraine's 412th Unmanned Systems Battalion, known as "Nemesis."
As the simulated battle began, heavy US armored tanks kicked up dust and charged toward enemy lines.
They were successively detected by Ukrainian reconnaissance drones.
Soon after, attack drones dropped bombs, and suicide drones joined in.
The armored brigade was wiped out in an instant.
When a drone hovers above or approaches closely, the corresponding tank is considered "killed." Because the tanks were caught by drones so quickly, those that received kill designations had to respawn—reviving defeated characters—to re-enter the training.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), reporting on the results of this exercise, noted on the 12th (local time) that it "demonstrated the difficulties US armored units may face in protecting themselves (from drone attacks) while on the move."
The US Department of Defense has spent billions of dollars securing drones and drone-attack technology.
It has also created special units to operate them.
However, the WSJ reported that they still struggled immensely against drone attacks.
Elliott Cohen of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a US think tank, pointed out how essential drones are in modern warfare, stating, "It is crucial for the US military to master this, but unfortunately, it does not seem to have reached that point yet."
Indeed, the US military has faced difficulties dealing with Iranian drone attacks in the Middle East.
Iran is a nation that has exported drones to Russia, which has been at war with Ukraine for five years.
It has concentrated on developing drones as an asymmetric capability to counter the United States and Israel.
US bases in the Middle East have suffered successive casualties after being targeted by long-range Iranian drone attacks.
Through this exercise, vulnerabilities have been exposed not only to long-range attacks but also to the short-range drone attacks demonstrated by Ukraine.
However, a military official who observed the exercise said that the US military's ability to conduct counter-drone operations improved over the two-week training period as troops learned dispersion, concealment, and the use of electronic warfare.
Ukraine's assistance, backed by its rich combat experience, reportedly played a major role in this.
Ukraine, despite being at a military disadvantage against Russia, has held out for over four years and is well-deserving of being called the world's strongest in operating drone forces.
The US military has reportedly even brought in Ukrainian counter-drone systems to counter Iranian drone attacks.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated in May before the federal Senate that the US has increased the number of personnel dispatched to Ukraine to study drone warfare.
The US is currently pursuing the purchase of Ukrainian-made drones, the WSJ reported.
The US military is not the only one to have bowed to Ukraine's drone units.
During exercises held in the Baltic Sea last May, Ukrainian drone units easily defeated British, Estonian, and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces.
Reports also indicate that this spring, during exercises conducted by the Swedish military alongside NATO allies, Ukrainian drone units overpowered forces from other nations.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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