Ukrainian Drones Outperform US Brigade in Germany Exercise

Ukrainian drone operators decisively outmaneuvered a U.S. Army armored brigade during a major military exercise in Germany this spring, repeatedly destroying American vehicles and forcing repeated resets of the war game. The exercise, called Combined Resolve, exposed critical vulnerabilities in how U.S. forces protect themselves from modern battlefield drones and highlighted the combat-tested expertise of Ukrainian units.

The semiannual drill, held from April 9 to May 10, involved approximately 3,500 U.S. personnel, primarily from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division, which typically operates M1A2 tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. Ukrainian drone teams from the 412th Regiment of Unmanned Systems Forces, known as Nemesis, participated as part of the opposing force. Their operators quickly located and simulated the destruction of U.S. armored vehicles using a combination of reconnaissance drones, drones carrying simulated explosives, and first-person-view kamikaze drones.

The effectiveness of the Ukrainian tactics was so pronounced that U.S. vehicles had to be repeatedly respawned to keep the exercise moving, according to a U.S. official...