101st soldiers use drones to drop grappling hooks, breach razor wire
By Hope Hodge Seck
Jun 26, 2026, 12:38 PM
In a recent critical training rotation, soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division expanded the scope of what’s possible with warfighting drones, developing new uses and making key determinations about how — and in what quantities — to build them into warfighting, officials said this week.
The 101st, which has since 2023 been designated as the Army’s lead experimental unit for air assault capabilities and strategic mobility, executed the field tests at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, Louisiana, in April. The division’s 3rd Mobile Combat Brigade traveled to the center, along with more than 500 drones, about 150 of which were one-way attack drones the unit had built in-house.
In a round table discussion with reporters Thursday, Col. Ryan Bell, the brigade’s commander, said the numbers matter — and represent an entirely new way of viewing and using drones.
“We need drones at scale. We need to treat them like ammunition,” he said. “When we do the math, I estimate a brigade needs between 1,000 and 1,500 drones a week when we’re in sustained combat operations.”
https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-army/2026/06/26/101st-soldiers-use-drones-to-drop-grappling-hooks-breach-razor-wire/
