No comms, no bombs: 2nd Cavalry cuts the cord on battlefield communications

VILSECK, Germany — On a battlefield increasingly watched from drones above, sometimes a few hundred yards of separation can make all the difference.  

Getting that space has generally involved a lot of cables snaking between trucks and communications equipment at a field command post, allowing soldiers miles apart to relay messages, coordinate movements or call for artillery and mortar fire.

But that way of communicating comes with a problem: eventually, the cables run out. So on Thursday, signals soldiers from the Vilseck-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment were testing a potential solution during a new validation course.

In a large clearing at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, they paired mobile communications hubs that provide access in the field to classified and unclassified networks with Silvus radios, which are capable of carrying those connections wirelessly.

Soldiers with 2nd Cavalry Regiment's Signal Troop take part in a new validation course pairing Tactical Communications Nodes with Silvus radios in Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2026. The regiment's Signal Troop is developing the training to let soldiers manage their equipment wirelessly and from a distance, reducing the risk from enemy drones that can target heat signatures. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

They established a connection with the radios from roughly half a mile away, and positioning more of the systems between them allowed the group to relay the signal even further.

“That is important to us because with all the drone warfare nowadays, we can be away from our equipment and still be able to manage it remotely,” said Spc. Juan Perez, one of the dozen or so 3rd Squadron members experimenting with the new method.

With a direct power supply, two radios can reach a communications hub more than 3 miles away, Perez said citing the device’s manual.

The Silvus radios work together with tactical communication nodes off of a wireless network that can connect farther away than a simple cellphone linked to another device.

Two soldiers with 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment work on classified and unclassified computer networks connected wirelessly to a Silvus radio in Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2026. The regiment's Signal Troop is developing the training to let soldiers manage their equipment wirelessly and from a distance, reducing the risk from enemy drones that can target heat signatures. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

And in a time when enemy drones can quickly locate people and equipment using thermal imagery, that separation could act as a “decoy” to help keep soldiers alive, said Sgt. 1st Class Emmanuel Ramosnavedo, a signal operations support specialist.

Ramosnavedo described a scenario in which an enemy drone targets the heat signature radiating off of equipment. Meanwhile, the soldiers operating the networks are positioned hundreds of yards away.

“Then they will have more chances to react if one of (the radios) gets blown up,” Ramosnavedo said. “We know we are already in scope of somebody close by.”

Soldiers with 2nd Cavalry Regiment's Signal Troop set up a Tactical Communications Node in Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2026. The regiment's Signal Troop is developing the training to let soldiers manage their equipment wirelessly and from a distance, reducing the risk from enemy drones that can target heat signatures. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Thursday’s validation course was part of a new training program that the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, the Army’s only forward-deployed Stryker brigade, hopes to make routine.

The intent is that the course will allow the unit’s other squadrons to be taught how to use such tactics before the end of the year.

“Signal is a very underrepresented specialty within the regiment,” said Spc. Johnny Castillo, a network communication systems specialist. “This training on its own reinforces knowledge and tactical readiness amongst our troops and it also helps us improve how we can support our organization.”