By Staff Sgt. Jake Bailey, 119th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FORT CHAFFEE, Ark. — Arkansas Army National Guard Soldiers trained with emerging unmanned aircraft systems and counter-UAS technology during a demonstration at Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center, Arkansas, as part of annual training.

The event brought Soldiers together with representatives from EchoDyne and MyDefence to demonstrate drone detection, tracking and counter-UAS capabilities. During the training, Soldiers operated Skydio X10D drones and Black Hornet unmanned aircraft systems while industry representatives showed how active radar and passive detection systems identify small aerial systems in the training environment.

Sgt. Trysten Smith, assigned to Delta Company, Brigade Engineer Battalion, 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, said the training gave Soldiers an opportunity to test new drone detection technology while operating small unmanned aircraft systems across the training area.

“We’re flying SUAS across the field while they try to detect whether or not they can see our birds,” Smith said. “We’re flying Skydios to try to modernize the battlefield.”

Smith, a qualified tactical UAS operator, said the shift toward smaller systems gives Soldiers more flexibility at the platoon level. Unlike larger legacy systems, small UAS platforms can be carried by Soldiers and used for reconnaissance in a tactical environment.

“We just fly quadcopters,” Smith said. “We try to look at things, look at people, look at equipment, identify what those things are, and then decide on what our next course of action would be.

Pfc. Jaden Labitad, a combat engineer assigned to Bravo Company, 239th Brigade Engineer Battalion, said he had no prior drone experience before being trained on the Black Hornet system for the demonstration.

“We got these little drones, little Black Hornets, and they’re so hard to see when they’re up in the air,” Labitad said. “They got these little cameras. It’s like a spy drone.”

Labitad said the training showed him how emerging technology is becoming part of military operations.

“It’s something different than what I’m used to,” Labitad said. “It’s fun to see that in the military life now too.”

For Soldiers, the demonstration highlighted both sides of the evolving unmanned systems fight: how to employ drones and how to detect them. Smith said counter-UAS training is important because Soldiers need to understand how to use the technology and how to defeat it.

“The more we train and the more we perform, the better we get,” Smith said.

The 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Arkansas Army National Guard, conducted annual training from May 30, 2026, to June 13, 2026, at Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center to build readiness, strengthen individual and collective proficiency, and prepare Soldiers for future state and federal missions.