500 Seized Chines Drones to Become Target Practice
Florida will provide the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) with 500 confiscated Chinese drones to be used as target practice at its headquarters in Tampa.
The quadcopter drones will be used next month over a three-day period to train elite U.S. troops on how to fend off against enemy drones. Troops will use shotguns to knock down the government-seized drones.
This training event, called “Military Drone Crucible,' will be held Dec. 4-6 at Camp Blanding in Florida, according to the United States National Drone Association’s (USNDA) website.
“It will be the largest counter-drone destruction event ever held in the United States,”
Nate Ecelbarger, president of the USNDA, told Bloomberg.
The previous largest takedown of drones took place in September, when an electromagnetic weapon was used to take down 49 drones as Camp Atterbury in Indiana, Axios reported. At the time, U.S. Navy Seals, Marines and Army Rangers took part in this event for training purposes.
December’s training event is expected to be similar, with training sessions focused on clearing a room with opposing troops present and striking an enemy convoy, according to an event description on the USNDA’s website.
Source: The Hill
