US Army Begins Drone Lethality Course Training Soldiers in First-Person-View Operations

The US Army operates a drone lethality course to train soldiers in first-person-view drone operations, Insider reported. Maj. Rachel Martin, the course director, said the largest remaining skill gap is learning to fly with goggles because pilots receive no physical feedback from the aircraft.

Soldiers begin training on simulators and complete 20 to 30 hours before moving to live flight. Martin explained that students must develop new neural pathways to interpret visual cues alone, noting that many instinctively lean their bodies when turning in the simulator. The first course iteration took place in August with 28 or 29 students.

Four did not advance to the advanced group, while participants included infantry soldiers and contractors in their sixties. Maj. Wolf Amacker, who leads the Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Tactics Branch at the Aviation Center of Excellence, said FPV drones cost a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each.

He added that simulators prevent expensive early crashes during initial training. Lt. Col. Ben Irwin-Clark, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards, reported that Ukrainian soldiers advised at least 30 hours on simulators and 30 hours of field flying before pilots reach competence with multiple drone types.

His unit deliberately crashes drones into nets and targets during exercises and repairs those that can be salvaged. Ukrainian drone schools told Insider that people of any age and background can become effective pilots, though the strongest performers are typically younger individuals with video-game experience and technical backgrounds.