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21 February 2026

Working with Ukrainian troops convinced this elite British Army infantry battalion to go all in on drones

Sinéad Baker

An elite British Army battalion is going all in on drones after working closely with Ukrainian soldiers and seeing how central these systems have become in modern warfare.

The 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards now has 78 of its 300 members qualified as drone operators, its commanding officer, Lt. Col. Ben Irwin-Clark, told Business Insider. The unit has big plans to increase its training and work with drones further.

"That just gives you an idea of how important this is," he said.

The battalion has built a training facility with drone warfare in mind, and its soldiers are heavily invested, he said, sharing that he's got soldiers asking if they can get in on the weekends and log some flying hours.

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