Tank reconnaissance: how American soldiers teach drones to drive armored vehicles at the Pegasus Forge exercises

The American army no longer just shoots and rides — now it looks, thinks and attacks smarter. At the major Pegasus Forge exercises, soldiers combined aerial reconnaissance and armored vehicle maneuvers for the first time in practice — and the result looks like a scene from the future. This is part of a large—scale initiative called Transformation in Contact, which aims not just to introduce technology, but to completely change the way combat is conducted.

The main character is the Skydio X2D drone, which was launched directly from the Bradley combat vehicle. An operator from the engineering battalion of the 8th Brigade, part of the 2nd Armored Brigade combat team, lifted the drone into the air and began conducting real-time reconnaissance. But the most interesting thing was that the video from the drone came directly into the cockpit of M1 Abrams tanks, helping the commanders to see the enemy over the hills, avoid ambushes and accurately coordinate the movement of the entire column.

Imagine: a tank is moving forward, and an "eye" drone is circling above it, which shows everything ahead from a bird's—eye view. He finds minefields, identifies enemy positions, tracks infantry movement — and all this even before the tanks come under fire. This is not just support, but the integration of drones directly into the armored group, as if the tanks had a "silent scout in the sky."

The exercises were held under the auspices of the 1st Cavalry Division, and their task was simple - to test new technologies in realistic combat conditions. And the result is impressive: drones are no longer just an "application" to the army — they are becoming a key element of tactics. It is especially valuable that all this works on the go, in dust, under heat and in conditions of interference.

Transformation in Contact is not about gadgets. It's about making sure that every soldier, every tank, and every drone are connected in a single network where information flows instantly and decisions are made faster than the enemy's. And at Pegasus Forge, it became clear: the future is already here — and it's flying over armored vehicles.