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7 June 2025

U.S. Army is already taking lessons from Ukraine’s drone attack on Russia’s strategic bombers

Mark Pomerleau

U.S. Army Spc. Anton Lane, a combat medic with specialized drone training, assigned to 5-7 Cavalry, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division visually tracks a Skydio X10E4TT drone shortly after deploying it for surveillance during exercise Combined Resolve 25-2 at Hohenfels Training Area, Hohenfels, Germany on May 17, 2025. (US Army photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Fist Class Richard Hoppe, Released).

Following Ukraine’s stunning attack over the weekend that used small drones to target and destroy Russia’s strategic bombing aircraft, the U.S. Army is applying big picture observations to its ongoing force transformation.

For starters, leaders believe it is a validation of some of the radical change the service is seeking in how to procure and manage capabilities differently in the future.

“Yesterday was a really good example of just how quickly technology is changing the battlefield. We’ve seen this over the last couple of years that everybody talks about [Program Objective Memorandum] cycles and everybody talks about program of record. I think that’s just old thinking,” Gen. Randy George, chief of staff of the Army, said Monday during the Exchange, an AI conference hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project.

POM cycles refer to the five-year planning process for programs and capabilities in the Pentagon.


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