US soldiers learn to identify drones by sound
While the US Army has not yet formally introduced audio drone training as part of its curriculum, Harrington told reporters that field experience listening to the sky can provide an introduction to differentiating among various drone types.
By Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo on May 18, 2026 2:40 pm
MILAN — US soldiers are learning to recognize different types of drones by their distinct, buzz-like noises to better identify them during patrols, drawing lessons from the Ukrainian battlefield.
Honing that skill, along with practicing identifying aerial threats by sight, were key takeaways from the recent US-led Project FlyTrap 5.0 exercise in Lithuania, which ran from the first two weeks of May.
“No longer am I just scanning to my 12:00 and around me at ground level — we’ve incorporated this warfare to where we have to scan up and out as well … you have to now learn the sounds of the drones. Does it sound like one of the one-way attack ones coming in our potential direction?” said Sgt. 1st Class Tyler Harrington, a platoon sergeant for Eagle Troop, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, who led counter-drone tactics during the exercise, during a virtual media roundtable on May 14.
Specifically, this year’s edition was focused on detecting, tracking and defeating low-cost unmanned aerial systems.
https://breakingdefense.com/2026/05/us-soldiers-learn-to-identify-drones-by-sound/
