Army unit claims a first with attack drone built and flown by its own soldiers

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Staff Sgt. Angel Caliz sat on a small field stool Wednesday, controller in hand and a headset over his eyes providing a first-person view from a drone flying more than a mile away.

Earlier this year, Caliz, along with another 2nd Cavalry Regiment soldier, earned top honors at the Army’s inaugural Best Drone Warfighter Competition as the service’s top drone operators in the tactical squad category.

This week, deep in the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Bavaria, he was preparing for another inaugural achievement: destroying a target with a one-way attack drone carrying live explosives that soldiers with the regiment’s 1st Squadron had built, armed and prepared themselves.

“This is a conventional Army first, potentially an Army-wide first as far as a live, kinetic drone strike conducted without any contractor support, (or) any external unit support,” said Capt. Michael Bapp, the unit’s company commander, Wednesday.

The test comes as the Army works to make small drones a regular part of how soldiers train and fight, in part drawing on lessons from the war in Ukraine.

Soldiers with the 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, set up a viewing area for a one-way attack drone live-fire event at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Sept. 30, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Army Staff Sgt. Angel Caliz, a drone operator with the 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, operates a first-person-view attack drone during a practice run at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Sept. 30, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

2nd Cavalry Regiment soldiers watch live drone footage of a one-way attack drone striking a target during the training event at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Sept. 30, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

The Orqa MRM2-10 drones used in the training were assembled by soldiers from manufacturer-supplied parts and fitted with an electronic safety and arming device and a 3D-printed casing that the unit designed to house the explosives.

For the live strike, these devices, dubbed “Dragoon bombs” after the regiment’s nickname, were armed with 250 grams of C-4 and M6 low-voltage blasting caps, said 1st Lt. Eugene Lee, a reconnaissance platoon leader.

The 3D-printed cylinder, however, can carry almost two pounds of explosives and be modified for different targets, including by adding ball bearings for use against enemy personnel.

“We can modify the Dragoon bomb, make it into a shape charge, which would be very effective in destroying smaller tanks or armored personnel carrier vehicles,” Lee said. “If we hit the right spot on the vehicle, we’d be able to get a 100% kill as well.”

It took Caliz less than five minutes to fly the explosives-laden drone from the launch site to a staged target more than a mile away, lock in and destroy it.

The explosion, which was being livestreamed to the squadron by a separate drone, was met with cheers, including from Lt. Col. Michael Caspers, the squadron commander, who could be heard congratulating the soldiers over the feed.

An Orqa MRM2-10 drone fitted with a 3D-printed device housing explosives prepares for takeoff during a one-way attack strike training event, Sept. 30, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

2nd Cavalry Regiment soldiers watch live drone footage of a one-way attack drone destroying a staged target during the training event at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Sept. 30, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

2nd Cavalry Regiment soldiers stage in a safe location at Grafenwoehr Training Area to view a target being destroyed by a one-way attack drone, Sept. 30, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

The Sept. 30 training was more than two years in the making, Bapp said. He added that the unit had to adapt to the challenge of having no precedent they could follow, which meant logistical and operational approvals that took time.

But Caliz and his fellow squadron members demonstrated the larger point: an infantryman could take what the unit already had on hand and build an effective weapon.

The technology could eventually give individual squads and platoons access to precision munitions with significantly greater reach than weapons already in their inventory.

For comparison, soldiers would typically rely on weapons such as an AT4 anti-tank weapon to engage an armored threat, Bapp said, but accurately striking a target with one beyond 300 meters can be difficult under combat conditions.

The drones could allow soldiers to attack similar targets from more than three miles away, Lee said. And with an additional receiver, that range could extend beyond 12 miles.

“Today’s successful live strike using (purpose built attritable) systems made by our Dragoons, armed by our Dragoons, and executed by our Dragoons, displays that we are adapting what we have on-hand now to meet the threat with a capable and credible force,” Col. Timothy Price, the regiment’s commander, said.