U.S. Army tests drone and EW tactics in cold-weather operations

U.S. Army soldiers from the Multi-Functional Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division conducted Operation Arctic Tech at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, from April 7 to April 10 — a weeklong field exercise designed to fuse unmanned aircraft systems, electronic warfare, and counter-drone capabilities into a single, integrated reconnaissance force operating in sub-zero conditions.

The exercise was built around the newly established Multi-Functional Reconnaissance Company, a unit that consolidates what were previously separate specialties — reconnaissance scouts, small UAS operators, and electronic warfare personnel — into combined teams working under a unified kill chain. Soldiers trained on familiarizing platoons with the full stack of reconnaissance tools available to them, from traditional observation techniques to cutting-edge spectrum analysis and first-person view drone operations, all conducted across snow-covered terrain in one of the Army’s most demanding cold-weather environments.

The operation kicked off with an air assault from Bryant Army Airfield, with Alaska National Guard aviators flying UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to insert soldiers into Landing Zone Warbler. From there, troops moved on snowshoes through dense, snow-packed terrain toward multiple named areas of interest, tasked with identifying and confirming potential targets before passing targeting data up the chain.

On the ground, reconnaissance elements employed a layered mix of modern systems alongside conventional observation. Parrot first-person view drones provided overhead situational awareness, while the Versatile Radio Observation and Direction system and the VROD Modular Adaptive Transmit system gave soldiers the ability to detect, geolocate, and apply electronic warfare effects against adversary equipment. To counter the threat of enemy drones, squads also carried the Drone Buster Block V4 — a handheld counter-UAS device capable of detecting, tracking, and disrupting hostile unmanned systems, enabling ground elements to maneuver with reduced risk.

The exercise demonstrated how rapidly these integrated teams can transition from reconnaissance to targeting. Sgt. Jacob Connolly, a drone instructor, deployed a Parrot drone and within 30 minutes had identified targets and obtained their coordinates. Once a reconnaissance element on the ground confirmed those coordinates by observing the target area directly, the data was transmitted through communications channels to a strike team. First-person view drones then executed a simulated strike on a dummy High Mobility Artillery Rocket System — illustrating the full loop from sensor to shooter.

“By leveraging advanced technology to lead our efforts and confirming findings through our recce scouts, we are able to more effectively identify and target high-priority threats,” said Capt. Patrick Robinson, Commander of the 2/11 MFRC.

The MFRC concept is deliberately built around cross-training. Rather than maintaining UAS operators and electronic warfare specialists in separate lanes, the company embeds them directly within reconnaissance elements so that every soldier understands adjacent roles. “At the MFRC, we developed a multi-functional team concept where we have directly embedded our UAS and EW operators in with the reconnaissance aspect, they cross-train every single day,” said 1st Sgt. Sean Jolin, senior enlisted advisor for the company. “That’s been a focus. Getting these guys to train together as a cohesive unit, so everyone knows how to do each other’s roles across all domains.”

Electronic warfare operators play a specific and increasingly critical role in that architecture. “If we can identify communications equipment, radar systems or confirm enemy forces in an area, it can push the brigade’s mission forward,” said Pfc. Elliott Watson, an electronic warfare operator. “Through spectrum analysis, we can detect enemy activity based on their transmissions.” That kind of passive intelligence collection — detecting an adversary’s presence through their own radio emissions — reduces the need to expose scouts or aircraft and gives commanders earlier warning of threats across a wider area.

The value of that integrated model extends beyond the tactical level. “The way we’re embedding drones and spectrum analysis systems into reconnaissance teams is a force multiplier,” said 1st Lt. Roman Wright, a platoon leader. “It allows us to rely on our specialists to employ their systems effectively and enables better decision-making at all levels.”

Operation Arctic Tech is part of a broader transformation underway within the 2nd IBCT (Airborne). The brigade is restructuring its task organization to permanently embed electronic warfare, small UAS, and reconnaissance functions together, a shift that Robinson described as already producing results across multiple training events. The concept was also validated during Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 26-02, where the reconnaissance company identified key enemy positions — including a tactical operations center — early in the exercise.

Arctic operations add a further layer of complexity to an already demanding mission set. Cold weather degrades battery performance, limits human endurance, and challenges the mechanical reliability of sensitive electronics — all factors that make the kind of seamless, cross-domain coordination practiced during Operation Arctic Tech harder to sustain and more valuable to prove out.

The 11th Airborne Division, based in Alaska and oriented toward high-latitude operations, is emerging as a proving ground for this integrated reconnaissance model. As the Army continues to refine multidomain operations concepts, the work being done in Alaska offers a template for how brigade-level reconnaissance might function in the high-end fights of the future — where the ability to find, fix, and finish targets faster than an adversary, in any environment, could prove decisive.