British soldiers have been trained to carry out offensive missions with attack drones for the first time, marking a significant shift in the way the Army prepares for future warfare.
Troops from across 1st (UK) Division took part in a three-week programme at the Bramley Training Area in Hampshire, where they learned how to operate first-person view (FPV) drones as offensive weapons rather than just reconnaissance tools.
The course was delivered by the newly formed Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) Platoon of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, the first of its kind in the Army. The platoon’s instructors had previously trained at the Army’s UAS Centre at Lulworth as one-way attack (OWA) drone commanders before passing their skills on to other units.
Training for the future battlefield
The course combined classroom sessions, simulator practice, and live field exercises, teaching soldiers how to carry out strike missions while avoiding enemy drones and electronic warfare.
Colour Sergeant Danny Wade, commander of 2 Para’s UAS Platoon, said:
“We’re teaching soldiers from the ground up how to configure and fly FPV drones and then how to fight with them, working as a team alongside reconnaissance drones to find and strike targets. Accuracy is more important than speed, because we want to be able to hit exact points on a target to maximise the damage.”
Every trainee was required to complete 30 hours of simulator flying before starting. By the end of the three weeks, each soldier had logged a further 100 hours in both simulated and live scenarios.
Soldiers adapting to new technology
Among the trainees was Kingsman Kaidyn Hilton of 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. He explained that while his unit had experience using drones for reconnaissance, offensive drone warfare was entirely new.
“FPV drones are hard to fly because you are fully in control of them, whereas a normal drone is basically on autopilot,” he said. “It can be disorientating with the goggles on, because you’re focused on flying while taking in tactical information from others. But once you realise you’ve got control of a weapon that can strike bigger targets faster than infantry usually could, the adrenaline kicks in. This is where warfare is going.”
Strategic importance
Since its formation in late 2024, 2 Para’s UAS Platoon has played a dual role in exercises, operating as both friendly and enemy forces to prepare the wider battalion for the challenges drones now present on the battlefield.
Their work reflects the focus of the Government’s recent Strategic Defence Review, which highlighted the central role of drones in future military strategy.
Defence Secretary John Healey said at the time:
“Our adversaries are working more in alliance with one another, while technology is changing how war is fought. Drones now kill more people than traditional artillery in the war in Ukraine, and whoever gets new technology into the hands of their armed forces the quickest will win.”
For the British Army, that technology is already being tested, and the training at Bramley marks the first step in integrating attack drones into front-line operations.
