The Georgia Army National Guard successfully launched a new program this month that aims to transform troops across the state into skilled drone pilots.
The Unmanned Aerial Systems Operator’s Course primarily focuses on the use of small, first-person view quadcopter drones but hopes to teach participants skills that will enable them to deploy larger unmanned systems in the field over time.
The 12-day course was developed as an initiative of Georgia Army National Guard commander Brig. Gen. Jason Fryman, who assembled a team of six expert trainers and pilots to design the curriculum within six months.
“It’s exciting to have done our first course, but I am even more excited about what UAS in the Georgia ARNG will look like a year from now. I have no doubt that Georgia will be a UAS trailblazing state for the National Guard,” Col. Matthew Kukla, the UAS initiative director, said in a service release.
The program began with classroom instruction culminating in a field exercise, with units primarily learning to use the RQ-28 Short Range Reconnaissance quadcopter drone.
Produced by Skydio, the RQ-28 is a foldable FPV drone that can be easily stowed and transported in rucksacks. It features AI technology that allows it to navigate around obstacles autonomously and has advanced thermal and visual recognition capabilities. It can be used to accomplish a wide range of tasks.
The Guard troops learned to integrate the RQ-28s into their mission sets, including conducting route and zone reconnaissance for engineering tasks.
The goal of the program is to develop master trainers within the Guard who will then pass on their skills to others to broaden drone expertise in the field over time.
Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.