US Army Tests New Ammunition as Elite Rangers Down Just 15 FPV Drones in Drill

Best Ranger Competition Training Exercise

According to ХВИЛЯ: During the recent Best Ranger Competition, elite US Army Rangers engaged Ukrainian-style FPV drones with live ammunition, successfully destroying only 15 of them. This year's event, which involved 40 two-soldier teams of qualified Rangers, introduced drone target practice for the first time. The exercise highlights the growing tactical challenge that small, agile drones pose to even the most highly trained infantry. All participants were active-duty military personnel with Ranger qualifications.

The targets were Matrix-T quadcopters, capable of speeds up to 209 km/h (130 mph), modeled on drones widely used in Ukraine. Of the drones engaged, five were destroyed and ten were damaged but repaired on-site. Standard M4 carbines were most likely used for the shooting.

New Ammunition Undergoing Tests

Concurrently, the US Army is testing a new 5.56 mm L-variant round produced by Drone Round. This frangible shotgun-style cartridge disperses five projectiles in flight, with a claimed effective range of up to 100 meters against drone-sized targets. Firing tests for this ammunition took place on April 9 at the Oak Grove training center in North Carolina.

Brett Velikovich, a participant in the exercise, noted that it 'visibly demonstrated both the difficulty of hitting small, fast-moving aerial targets and the importance of repeated training under realistic conditions.'

It is worth noting that other nations, including Israel, are urgently seeking countermeasures against fiber-optic guided FPV drones, as Hezbollah began deploying them several weeks ago. On April 16, Rob Lee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute expressed concern, stating that 'in some Western defense circles, a dismissive attitude still persists regarding the threat that FPV and other cheap drones pose to NATO armies.'

Therefore, the Best Ranger Competition has revealed new challenges facing modern armed forces and underscored the critical need to adapt to emerging threats. With the use of FPV drones becoming increasingly common in combat, nations must develop new countermeasures to maintain their defensive capabilities.

The challenges posed by advanced drone technology are not unique to the US military. In fact, Ukraine's recent drone capabilities have overtaken those of Russia for the first time, highlighting the evolving landscape of aerial warfare. This shift emphasizes the need for continuous innovation in counter-drone strategies as nations adapt to the increasing prevalence and sophistication of unmanned aerial vehicles.