JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- In July 2025, the Secretary of War released a memorandum concerning the urgency of establishing U.S. military drone dominance. In it, Secretary Pete Hegseth described drones as the “biggest battlefield innovation in a generation” and called for the removal of red tape and the allocation of resources to bolster the U.S. military’s ability to employ and counter drone technology. As the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have progressed, the development of proper offensive and defensive capabilities has become even more imperative.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is putting this mission into action with the development of programs and training for both combat scenarios and installation defense.
The U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division employs civilian contractors to run JBER’s home-station training team tasked with focusing on emerging threats. For a long time, the primary focus of their work had been on improvised explosive devices. In the last few years, the focus has shifted to small unmanned aerial systems, or sUAS
“Since the Secretary of War’s drone-dominance memo, we’ve seen exponential growth in the interest and enthusiasm for drone training,” said Donovan Fredericksen, a training developer and integrator with the U.S. Army Pacific G3 Home Station Training Team supporting the 11th Airborne Division. “Recently, the units on base have really been beating down our doors for this training.”
According to Fredericksen, their main effort is teaching counter-sUAS skills to Soldiers that they can use in real-world combat scenarios. The team accomplishes this through a combination of classroom instruction and reaction drills. Drones are equipped with dropping mechanisms which can be loaded with a tennis ball to simulate the use of explosive ordnance.
“We use commercial off-the-shelf drones against units to get [the Soldiers] used to seeing the platforms and reacting to contact,” said Fredericksen. “It can be difficult to hear a drone with live fire and ear protection on, but it’s important they understand the consequences of failing to detect a drone.”
While confronting sUAS is an important skill, evasion is also an option. These drills give teams the opportunity to practice concealing themselves from aerial cameras.
“Camouflage can be a really effective way to avoid a drone attack, " said Fredericksen. “But it’s tricky as technology becomes more accessible. There are cheap infrared camera attachments available now, so it’s not just about what can be seen with the naked eye.”
All of the drones come equipped with cameras and this footage is made available to the units after the training exercises. In addition to refining detection tactics, they can evaluate the effectiveness of their camouflage techniques.
The 11th Airborne Division has also invested in an innovation lab to assist with the drone training program. The lab has the capacity to fabricate drone components using 3D printers, which allows for the creation of purpose-built drones at a fraction of the price of commercial models.
This affordability opens the door for training beyond C-sUAS techniques. In fact, there are already plans in place to incorporate more offensive tactics. Fredericksen said they are transitioning to teaching Soldiers how to fly first-person view drones which are primarily used for one-way attacks.
Concern for C-sUAS operations is not confined to conflicts overseas; military installations must also safeguard against drones. At JBER, base defense is the responsibility of the 673d Security Forces Squadron. The 673d SFS uses a combination of different technologies as well as human sensors to create a layered defense of the installation, but everything begins with training.
“All of our security forces specialists receive C-sUAS training,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Taylor Davis, 673d SFS C-sUAS noncommissioned officer in charge. “In addition to fundamental instruction and using the Dronebuster, some of our specialists also complete a phase two training process to operate our drone sensor system.”
The installation employs the Air Force’s Negation of Improvised Non-State Joint Aerial system, or NINJA. The NINJA system is a detect and defeat system that allows security forces to identify and take control of drones. According to Davis, once they have control of the drone they can land it and trace it back to the operator.
Unauthorized drones can pose a risk in a number of ways. High quality cameras attached to drones can be used to photograph sensitive areas of the base and models with dropping mechanisms could be used in a direct attack. Even the devices themselves can pose a risk to manned aircraft in the base airspace. However, not all drone usage is necessarily dangerous.
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew Burt, NCOIC of sUAS operations for JBER, is in charge of all drone activity on base. He holds a master’s degree in sUAS operations, and is an adjunct professor of the subject at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida and is optimistic about the future of drones.
“Drones can do a lot of amazing things, but people are either afraid to use them or don’t know about the technology that’s out there,” said Burt.
There are already authorized drones being used by the 673d SFS and the 673d Civil Engineering Group for explosive ordnance disposal and rapid airfield assessment, but Burt says he hopes to see more widespread use of the technology in the future.
“We want to ensure that any unit that wants to fly drones on base is following the rules and regulations, but it’s tough because the rules are constantly changing,” said Burt. “We can help with that. If units have an idea for using drones, but don’t know how to get started, they can come see us and we can get them set up.”