WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. Paratroopers have made a historic achievement by destroying an aircraft in flight using a first-person-view drone carrying an explosive charge.
This marks the U.S. Army's first drone-on-drone strike - a milestone once unimaginable for conventional Army units, according to the Pentagon.
'In (the Star Wars movie), 'A New Hope,' Luke Skywalker flies an X-Wing through the Death Star trench and blows it up. This wasn't like that. It was way harder. Honestly, it felt more like Darth Vader shooting down rebel pilots. He might be the villain, but he's also one of the best pilots in the galaxy,' said Army 1st Lt. Francesco La Torre, who led the 173rd Airborne Brigade for the mission.
The strike took place earlier this month during the Army's Unmanned Aerial Systems and Launched Effects Summit, held during August 11-15 at Fort Rucker, Alabama. The live-fire event was led by the brigade's bayonet innovation team in partnership with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and engineers from Army Combat Capabilities Development Command.
'When I heard [Army] Chief [Warrant Officer 2] Nate Shea say, 'Arming,' when he was lined up behind the fixed wing threat UAS, I knew he'd take it down,' La Torre said. 'A few seconds later he detonated the claymore [mine], and I looked up from my end-user device to see the fixed-wing [aircraft] drop out of the sky.'
The success came after weeks of training. Paratroopers flew for hours each day, building muscle memory while rehearsing how to engage a fast-moving aircraft. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Topits familiarized himself with the fixed-wing platform a month in advance, while Shea practiced with inactive claymores. Once on the ground at Fort Rucker, the operators flew daily in changing weather, preparing for a target that could appear anywhere across the range.
Technical skill proved as important as piloting, La Torre said.
'With the right kit, paratroopers will be able to utilize a low-cost system with preexisting munitions to execute a wide variety of mission tasks - and have the power to protect their unit from an endemic threat'.
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