The U.S. strike battalion established in Europe in January to practice the use of assault drones and ground robots is gradually being disbanded. This was reported on Wednesday, August 19, by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing a U.S. Army representative. After participating in major exercises in Germany in August and September, the unit will present its findings to the U.S. Army, which will serve as a guideline for future experiments, and "will refocus on its core combat tasks as an airborne battalion," he noted. This move will be part of a broader "return to basics" approach promoted by Acting Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army General Christopher Laniv, who is closely working with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. ## ## The Decision is Criticized by Military Experts The battalion was a flagship initiative of Laniv's predecessor, General Randy George, who was removed from his position by Hegseth in April, WSJ states. According to the publication, the decision has already drawn criticism from several military experts who claim it will slow progress in the U.S. Army's efforts to achieve superiority in warfare using drones—a type of combat that is changing the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine and the Middle East. Ukraine is increasingly using ground robots instead of soldiers. Earlier, on August 4, Bloomberg reported that Kyiv plans to produce and send at least 50,000 combat robots equipped with various types of weapons to the front by the end of the year. Ukrainian officials note that drone systems help compensate for the shortage of personnel in the army, freeing soldiers from dangerous logistical transport to support troops on the front lines and evacuate the wounded. Infantry units are also using unmanned vehicles to perform combat tasks, said the commander of Ukraine's Drone Forces, Robert "Madyar" Brovdi. Some of them are used to deliver mines or conduct kamikaze-style attacks, he specified.
