The Army achieved a strategic victory in the first military drone competition organized by the US Army’s 7th Army Training Command (7ATC), which took place December 8-10 at the Grafenwöhr training area. THE
The event, named Competition for the best war dronesought to measure the actual capability of allied operators to use unmanned aerial systems in reconnaissance, attack, suppression and maneuver support missions. The 7ATC defined it as a “visible culmination of experimentation and combat readiness” with UAS, as part of the doctrinal transformation of the US Army in Europe.
How did the Legion manage to beat the US Army teams?
The hidden advantage: Spanish mastery of tactical FPV
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| dominant bumblebee | Ad hoc assembled FPV variants, aligned with the American “Purpose Built Attritable Systems (PBAS)” category |
| Technical advantage | High precision in first-person navigation in urban and trench environments |
| Critical evaluation | Written exam, reconnaissance-strike mission and UAS obstacle course |
Data that did not appear in the initial communications and which explains the result: The Spanish learning curve in FPV drones is faster than that of the US military itself. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS, 2024), the US Army is still in the process of “standardizing FPV procedures across units at the platoon and company level”, while the
An exercise designed to quell modern drone warfare
- Teams from the United States, Spain and Italy participated, with a majority of Americans stationed in Europe.
- Systems such as Skydio X2D, ORQA FPV, DJI Mavic, DJI Avata, Vantage Vesper and PBAS drones built by the soldiers themselves were used.
- Scenarios included urban reconnaissance, trench penetration, ghillie camouflage, and fire calls under time pressure.
NATO had already warned in its report “Drones in Allied Land Forces 2024” that European land forces were adopting FPV tactics inspired by the war in Ukraine, with a direct impact on small-scale operations. In this context, the Legion’s ability to improvise, assemble and pilot rapid platforms has become a tangible advantage.
What does this mean for Spain and for the NATO structure in Europe?
The Spanish victory is not a symbolic gesture. According to a Department of Defense advisor cited by RAND in 2023, “the forces that dominate attributable UAS will dominate the tactical window of the next ten years.” The Legion has demonstrated that it can operate with ease according to this model and that its training methods are already at the level of the most demanding American opposition units (OPFOR), such as the 1-4 Infantry Regiment.
For Spain, the immediate impact is twofold: strengthens national leadership in tactical UAS within NATO and accelerates the adoption of low-cost drone-based combat procedures against hybrid adversaries. For US Army Europe (USAREUR-AF), the message is clear: allied units on the southern flank are capable of innovating and winning on terrain that the United States considers its own.
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