Fort Hood unit tests technology that lets the robots do the work

FORT HOOD, Texas — Technology companies got the rare opportunity to put their products in the hands of soldiers during a training event this week, with the Army and industry seeing in real time the potential of emergent software and hardware to enhance a combat unit’s capabilities.

With a focus on autonomous capabilities and AI, the 20 participating companies got a chance to experiment alongside 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, through Overwatch, an ongoing innovation competition managed by the Army Applications Laboratory in Austin to leverage the capabilities of robots to complete work without direct supervision.

Some of the tech could be chosen to travel with the brigade for an upcoming rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., for further evaluation, said Lt. Col. Nick Rinaldi, a program manager at the lab.

“[Army Applications Lab] is usually the intersection between what an industry partner can provide in terms of capability and what the warfighter needs to actually change and become more lethal, more contested-logistics capable,” he said.

A self-driving logistics vehicle from Scout AI navigates roads Aug. 18, 2026, as part of a training exercise at Fort Hood, Texas. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

For one battalion, that meant incorporating a drone system that flies itself to conduct reconnaissance alongside the Ghost-X system troops already operate, said Spc. Logan Coleman, a drone team leader within 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment.

“We set up reconnaissance and found an entire battalion in 20 minutes,” he said. “We got strikes off and cleared them in about an hour.”

The entire brigade has been in and out of the field this month in Texas heat above 100 degrees, conducting a standard training mission with its armored vehicles to prepare for the National Training Center while also experimenting with technology. Aside from the autonomous reconnaissance drones Coleman’s platoon employed, other soldiers tested out drones that work in teams to complete reconnaissance missions, self-driving resupply vehicles and drones capable of carrying explosives.

As opposed to typical experimentation that aims to test the capabilities and constraints of new products, Overwatch’s schedule was dictated by the brigade’s training cycle, Rinaldi said. It’s the flip side to the traditional, and still important, Army process of offering up a specific problem in need of a solution.

“We’re learning how does this emerging technology change how we fight?” Rinaldi said. “Does it change it for the better?”

Small drone operations have become standard in combat units as the Army prepares to fight an enemy with similar capabilities, such as Russia or China, but now there’s a need to push further into artificial intelligence and autonomous operations.

More plainly, how can soldiers let the robots do the work, Rinaldi said.

First Lt. Ronan Wyatt, a platoon leader for an armored strike platoon in the brigade’s 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, said incorporating autonomous devices into their mission took the mental load off operators.

A team of drones outfitted with collaborative automation software from Havoc AI prepare to launch Aug. 18, 2026, as part of a training exercise at Fort Hood, Texas. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

His soldiers experimented with a team of small reconnaissance drones from the company Havoc AI. The drones can be given a mission such as reviewing a route or specific area, then they work together in collaborative autonomy to get the job done.

When the drones return, soldiers can download their feeds and compare the new photos to old ones for any anomalies or signs of enemy activity.

“The operator can set the points, then go do something else,” Wyatt said. “I don’t have to have somebody glued to screens for 30 minutes.”

Employees of Field AI monitor as soldiers use the self-driving vehicle as part of a training exercise Aug. 18, 2026, at Fort Hood, Texas. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

A vehicle outfitted with self-driving software from Field AI sits alongside military vehicles during a training exercise Aug. 18, 2026, at Fort Hood, Texas. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

Another platoon trained with a Polaris vehicle outfitted with autonomous software from Field AI, which could be put on any vehicle.

“Human reconnaissance is more likely to survive if the robot has first contact,” said 1st Lt. Austin Sumner, platoon leader of a scout platoon in 2-12.

He said they also used the vehicle to deliver water, batteries and food to troops set up about a kilometer away. The vehicle took the long way using roads, he said.

The Forward Support Company for 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment used a different type of vehicle to carry out a similar resupply mission, said Sgt. 1st Class Marquizes Canada. His crew experimented with the AZAK vehicle, which uses electric vehicle technology in its wheels to create a compact vehicle with low- and high-clearance benefits at the same time. It is driven by a remote control.

Spc. Aidan Grob of 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, carries a drone during a training exercise Aug. 18, 2026, at Fort Hood, Texas. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

This allows for a smoother ride and for the vehicle to climb a 60-degree slope without slowing down, said Ben Meager, CEO of AZAK. It can climb terrain most vehicles can’t, he said.

“We’ve been using it to carry heavy things, like loads of ice to resupply camps,” Canada said.

Typically the soldiers would carry the bags, but this moves full coolers through rough terrain with ease, he said.

However, it was the medics that found the vehicles most valuable. The AZAK model used at Fort Hood could support up to 600 pounds, so it moved injured soldiers, ice sheets and water across the shrubby, uneven land. Other models can carry up to 1,000 pounds, Meager said.

“It facilitates soldiers being able to sustain a fight,” Canada said.

Sustaining combat operations may not be as exciting as talking about weapons systems, but it’s the key to staying in the fight, Rinaldi said.

“I think one of our superpowers in the Army, really ground combat, is we maintain tempo better than any other country can. We have shock and effect and speed that no one else can reproduce, and we’re the only ones that can do the logistics tails to do that,” he said. “Now that we’re going to get better at that, we’re going to be more effective, more lethal, more capable.”

A decision on which companies will move on with the brigade to the National Training Center depends on a variety of factors and measures set specifically to that technology, Rinaldi said. Not going isn’t the end of the road for possible use within the Army — it just means it wasn’t right for this unit and this mission.