Ukrainian drone regiment ‘decimates’ 3,500-strong U.S. armored brigade combat team in war game — High drone kill-rate forced continuous ‘respawns,’ reveals shortcomings in American response as drones easily spotted and destroyed tanks and armored vehicles

The 3rd Brigade Combat Team (3rd BCT) of the 1st Cavalry Division took part in the semi-annual Combined Resolve exercise in Germany, where it faced off with a dedicated U.S. Army OPFOR (opposing force) unit augmented by the 412th Unmanned Systems Brigade, better known as 412 Nemesis, an elite multidomain Ukrainian unit primarily operating drones. According to the Wall Street Journal, the 3,500-strong unit, which was tasked to attack the OPFOR, had many of its tanks and other armored vehicles eliminated during the simulated engagements.

The 3rd BCT is quite a powerful unit, and has been traditionally equipped with M1 Abrams tanks, M2 and M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, M109 Paladin Howitzers, and more. It also had standard electronic warfare and counter-drone operators to protect its vehicles against new threats. But despite the impressive armor and firepower of its equipment and the additional protection of its own specialized anti-drone troops, the 3rd BCT still didn’t stand a chance against the small and nimble drones of 412 Nemesis. It turned out that the biggest assets of the 3rd BCT are its biggest weakness. As the heavy vehicles maneuvered around the battlefield, they threw up plumes of dust that made them easy to spot by Ukrainian recon drones. From there, the UAV operators of 412 Nemesis turned these metal predators into sitting ducks as they either dropped bombs or explosives from loitering attack drones or used first-person-view (FPV) drones to smash directly into their targets.

Since this is an exercise, there were no actual losses — instead, damaged or destroyed tanks are marked by an attack drone hovering above them. Once an observer has awarded an official “kill,” the vehicle is sent back to the rear to “respawn” and continue the war game.

The WSJ noted that the U.S. pioneered the use of UAVs on the battlefield and often used them for reconnaissance and even long-range strikes. Even today, the U.S. Navy is developing an aerial refueling drone to release more important assets like the F/A-18 Strike Eagle from mundane (but important) duties like air-to-air refueling. However, the Ukrainians have mastered the use of short-range drone warfare as they defended their country from the 2022 Russian invasion. The war has been going on for over four years now, and Ukraine’s successful use of drones has helped them hold off the Russians from pushing further into the country. Aside from using drones tactically on the front lines, Ukraine has also started deploying them strategically, conducting strikes deep into Russian territory and targeting gasoline infrastructure in Siberia, more than 1,500 miles (2,500km) from its launch site.

The experience of most units in American and NATO armed forces have been against poorly armed (but still dangerous) insurgents, so exercises like these are crucial for them to keep their edge. Even though the 3rd BCT was “decimated” in its initial engagements against the OPFOR and the 412 Nemesis, its performance gradually improved, and its troopers have become more proficient in dispersing their units to make them harder to target, as well as cover and concealment, making it harder for reconnaissance drones to spot them from afar.

While a few argue that drone warfare has made tanks obsolete, some officers in the U.S. military argue that this is only true if the situation has devolved into a stalemate, like the current situation on the Ukrainian front lines. If a gap in the lines appears and either side wants to exploit it, mobile warfare would still require the combined effort of tanks, armored vehicles, mobile artillery, helicopter support, and infantry. However, Ukrainian commanders disagree, saying that, in their experience, drones have made maneuver warfare unfeasible, at least for now.

Nations across the world recognize the threat that drones have to their forces, too. So, even as they build their own drone units, they’re also trying to develop effective counters to them, like this microwave system from Lockheed Martin or China’s man-portable anti-drone laser. If these devices make it to the front line and prove to be effective against drone attacks, they could potentially change the equilibrium and give one side an advantage over the other.