Beijing – A recent social media post by the U.S. Army showcasing a small drone dropping a grenade has backfired spectacularly, drawing widespread mockery and highlighting a perceived disconnect between the American military’s training exercises and the realities of modern warfare, particularly as seen in conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Pentagon was reportedly forced to delete the post amid the online backlash.
The U.S. Army’s official account posted a video on social media on July 21st featuring a small drone dropping what appeared to be a grenade. The caption boasted, Have you ever seen a drone drop a grenade? However, this tactic has been widely adopted and evolved in conflict zones around the world, leading to widespread derision of the U.S. Army’s demonstration.
American media outlets are now acknowledging that the incident exposes an embarrassing lag in related technologies within the U.S. Army and potentially other branches of the military.
Out of Touch with Global Trends?
According to the American news website Business Insider, the U.S. Army claimed to be demonstrating the first-ever live grenade drop from a small drone. The test, conducted last month at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany, involved soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 7th Army Training Command, the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Personnel attached M67 fragmentation grenades and M69 practice grenades to small quadcopter drones equipped with specialized dropping mechanisms. The drones then released the grenades onto car-shaped targets on the range.
The U.S. Army stated that the live test would provide valuable experience for future training. While this is just an initial test of the capability, the lessons learned will help inform the development of defensive capabilities worldwide, the statement read.
However, the post’s caption, Have you ever seen a drone drop a grenade? ignited a firestorm of criticism on social media. The Kyiv Post reported that the U.S. Army’s video was mocked globally within minutes of its release, with the ridicule becoming so intense that military administrators were forced to delete it within an hour.
The article quoted numerous online commentators, including one who quipped, It’s a little concerning that it took the U.S. over three years to start deploying tactics that Ukrainian soldiers adopted days after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Another comment read, The U.S. military is already behind the times. Now, almost no one on either side of the Russia-Ukraine conflict uses drones to drop M67 grenades with unstable trajectories. Most Ukrainian soldiers use various customized modified munitions, such as VOG grenades with stabilizing wings.
Drone Grenade Drops Are Old News
The War Zone, a channel on the website The Drive, pointed out that the U.S. Army’s tone, the video’s content, and the accompanying comments were severely out of sync with the global development of small armed drones. To the question Have you ever seen a drone drop a grenade?, anyone who has followed the development of this field over the past decade would answer Yes.
The War Zone traced the use of small drones to drop bombs back to 2016. During the battle of Mosul in Iraq between 2016 and 2017, the terrorist organization ISIS used drones to drop grenades directly onto a U.S.-made M1 tank belonging to the Iraqi government forces. This tactic has since spread rapidly.
The incident serves as a stark reminder that modern warfare is evolving at a rapid pace, and that militaries must prioritize real-world experience and adapt to emerging technologies to maintain a competitive edge. The U.S. Army’s misstep highlights the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in the face of ever-changing global security challenges.
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