Marines flew small FPV drones from helicopter cockpits to scout ships before boarding, cutting risk in one of the military's most dangerous missions. Each drone costs a few thousand dollars; the Army wants up to a million.
The Marine Corps is experimenting with using helicopters as mobile control hubs for small drones during maritime operations, part of a broader push to keep troops safer on the riskiest missions.
In a recent exercise off the coast of California, Marines launched and operated small first-person-view drones from aboard UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper helicopters. The uncrewed aircraft scouted ships closely before Marines climbed aboard for a visit, board, search, and seizure drill, the service said in a news release.
Boarding ships can be among the military's most dangerous tasks. Extra time spent surveilling a vessel reduces the chance of surprises, the service said. The experiment showed helicopter formations could "scout, target, and provide overwatch from a safe distance" during maritime operations.
The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said in its release that using the FPV drones "as a remote extension of the helicopter's own sensors" made "an intrinsically dangerous mission more controlled by reducing unknowns."
Marines flew small Neros Archer first-person-view drones, the primary quadcopter used by the Corps. Each unit costs a few thousand dollars. The military expects to buy many more, with the Army seeking as many as one million Neros Archer drones over the next two years.
The exercise also tested whether helicopters could serve as airborne motherships for smaller drones, a concept already emerging on battlefields in Ukraine. Ukrainian and Russian forces have increasingly paired larger drones with smaller FPV aircraft and interceptor drones, using the larger platforms to ferry offensive and defensive drones closer to the battlefield before releasing them. That approach extends the range of drones by miles without putting operators closer to danger.
The recent drill follows a Marine Corps exercise in May that practiced passing drone control from ground units to helicopters and launching them from helicopters – early testing of the "airborne mothership" and flying command post concepts.
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