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31 Dec 25. USMC Launches New Drone Training Program. Corps Training and Education Command. The Marine Corps has launched a training program to rapidly increase the number of small unmanned aircraft system operators for commercial off-the-shelf attack drones. The program, announced in Marine Corps administrative message 624/25, addresses a critical need for standardized training as the service integrates new systems, including the Neros Archer first-person-view attack drone and prepares for this significant investment in various drone technologies. This initiative builds on the service’s success over the past few months scaling FPV attack drones across the Fleet Marine Force. It also aligns directly with War Department plans to field tens of thousands, and then hundreds of thousands, of attack drones across service components starting in March 2026 and continuing over the next several years. The new framework, created by Training and Education Command, establishes six pilot courses and eight certifications to create a standard for drone operators across the force. These initiatives are designed to provide foundational skills for a variety of small unmanned aircraft systems.
“We are fielding these courses as pilot programs to move quickly while maintaining our commitment to quality training and safety,” said Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Benjamin T. Watson, commanding general, Training and Education Command. “This allows us to validate all aspects of the training, from prerequisites and instructional methods to resourcing needs and certification standards, ensuring that we refine and perfect the curriculum before it becomes part of our long-term training framework.”
Six approved pilot courses will certify Marines while testing instructional methods and curriculum. These courses include training for drone operators, payload specialists and instructors, with specific prerequisites such as simulator experience on Training and Education Command-approved systems. The courses aim to ensure proper integration and supervision of new drone capabilities. The Training and Education Command has also established a process to grant certifications to Marines who have existing qualifications and experience through an exception to policy. Seven organizations are designated as regional training hubs with the authority to immediately begin conducting the pilot courses, including schools within Training and Education Command, 1st Marine Division, 2nd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and Marine Forces Special Operations Command. Weapons Training Battalion at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, will serve as the interim central hub, responsible for standardizing training, certification and safety across the force. It will consolidate lessons learned and function as the Marine Corps’ focal point for adapting training to emerging platforms, payloads and evolving operational requirements. This effort to scale standardized FPV attack drone training was shaped by lessons from recent certifications, including two Marine Corps attack drone competitions, one in the National Capitol Region and the other in Okinawa, Japan. These efforts certified 19 attack drone operators, five attack drone instructors, seven payload specialists, and two payload specialist instructors. In mid-November, the Marine Corps Attack Drone Team also supported the certification of 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit Marines, resulting in 14 attack drone operators and 11 payload specialists fully trained, equipped and ready for contingency operations. Over the next few months, the Marine Corps Attack Drone Team, alongside Weapons Training Battalion and regional hubs, will certify hundreds more Marines. By May 2026, all infantry, reconnaissance battalions and littoral combat teams across the Corps will be equipped to employ FPV attack drone capabilities. (Source: U.S. DoD)
29 Dec 25. Army, NATO allies test stealth in new FPV drone warfighter competition. The U.S. Army’s first multinational drone combat competition held in Europe saw 10 teams wield first person view drones with stealth in a forest setting to test their skills. Hosted by the 7th Army Training Command at Grafenwoehr, Germany from December 8-10, the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Drone Warfighter Competition was the first of its kind. The competition brought together American troops with international allies to compete on overall efficiency wielding drones in combat, with particular emphasis on conducting reconnaissance and stealth strikes across dense wooded areas.
“The original intent was to evaluate different teams and organizations on their ability to perform a lethal UAS lane, incorporating the hunter-killer concept and spark competitive encouragement and innovation,” Sgt. 1st Class Logan Parks, UAS program manager, 7ATC’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC), said in a video statement shared with Defense News.
“Tactically,” Parks continued, “we’re assessing them on their ability to move with all of their equipment within their team through a forest, emplace their systems in a tactical situation with camouflage, concealment and maintaining as low of a posture as possible while completing the mission.”
A team of six from Spain’s Legion Brigade took first place overall, while a team from 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment finished in second and will go on to compete in the Army’s Best Drone Warfighter Competition to be held in Alabama in February 2026.
“It shows the hard work that our team is doing every day. Not only just coming here, but they’ve been training really hard for months with their new equipment and new TTPs. So, it’s an absolute honor for us all,” 1st Lt. Carlos Castro Raffia of Spain’s team said in a service release.
The competition was fierce and saw many challenges including fog, which disrupted some drone systems and caused crashes, according to post-competition remarks by Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis, commander of 7th Army Training Command, shared with Defense News.
Tillis emphasized that the competition was intended to create an exchange of knowledge between competing U.S. teams and international partners to build strength and expertise.
“Collaboration is between all of us working together, not just one team,” Tillis said. “We’re learning from each other.”
Staff Sgt. Eric Navarro of the leading U.S. Army team said he believed the competition was a good learning experience for all involved.
“I think it was a good experience overall,” Navarro said in the video. “We got to see a little bit of where everyone was at and what we can work on. I think everyone can only go up from here.” (Source: Defense News)
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