US Army orders Europe-based drone warfare unit to return to traditional infantry role

A US Army unit in Europe that spent nearly a year developing and testing drone warfare tactics has been ordered to end its specialised experimentation and return to its traditional role as an airborne infantry battalion, US officials said Thursday.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Italy and Germany, had been experimenting with drones, including building its own systems and conducting exercises focused on unmanned warfare. The effort was inspired in part by Ukraine’s extensive use of drones in its war against Russia.

About 600 soldiers formed a specialised drone battalion last November, with the aim of creating a dedicated force that could be deployed wherever drone capabilities were needed.

Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s acting chief of staff, has now directed the brigade to refocus on its core mission as an airborne infantry unit, according to two US officials familiar with internal Army deliberations. The Wall Street Journal first reported the decision.

The move comes as LaNeve oversees a broader restructuring of the Army after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed Gen. Randy George as Army chief of staff in April.

The decision has also raised questions because of the lessons emerging from the war involving Iran, where low-cost Shahed drones have been used against US ships and bases. Iranian drone attacks have killed US troops, brought down an Army helicopter and forced American forces to use costly air-defence interceptors.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in March that Ukrainian officials were assisting several Middle Eastern and Gulf countries in countering Iranian drone attacks. The United States and European nations had also sought Ukrainian expertise.

Drone unit’s future was expected to be reviewed

The 173rd Airborne Brigade had been involved in drone warfare experimentation even before the specialised battalion was established.

In May 2025, the Army highlighted the brigade’s work at a first-person-view drone laboratory at Caserma Del Din in Italy, where soldiers were designing and building attack drones.

Then-brigade commander Col. Joshua Gaspard said soldiers had been closely following Ukraine’s use of FPV drones and were eager to experiment with the technology.

The brigade also explored artificial intelligence and the development of drones capable of operating in environments where electronic jamming was being used.

The Army said the specialised drone unit will complete its experimentation after two major exercises in Germany scheduled for this month and next. Its findings, along with lessons from the previous year, will then be provided to Army leaders to help shape future force design and experimentation.

A third US official said the exercises had always been expected to serve as a “culminating event” for the drone battalion, after which its future would be reviewed. However, the official said there had been an expectation during George’s tenure that the unit would continue its drone warfare mission.

The Army said the unit was tasked with studying lessons from dedicated unmanned-systems forces, including those developed by Ukraine, and helping accelerate the US military’s development and use of drones.

Army shifts direction after leadership change

The Army had previously made the integration of drones into conventional formations a major priority under George.

George and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll launched the Army Transformation Initiative last year, which called for modernised unmanned aircraft systems to be integrated into Army formations.

George repeatedly stressed the need to rapidly develop new drone systems and make them available to regular soldiers rather than limiting them to specialised units.

After George was removed as Army chief in April, LaNeve, his former deputy, assumed the role of acting chief of staff.

In a guidance memo issued Wednesday, LaNeve said future wars would differ significantly from previous conflicts and argued that soldiers must learn, innovate and adapt more quickly by combining human judgment with technologies such as autonomy and artificial intelligence.

The memo did not specifically mention drones. Instead, it emphasised traditional military principles, stating that the Army must remain “disciplined, lethal, and relentless” and capable of closing with and defeating its adversaries.