Simulated drone attack at Camp Pendleton puts spotlight on little seen, often deadly adversary

"The blood was fake. So were the broken bones. But an otherwise authentic, torn-from-the-headlines drill was held Wednesday at Camp Pendleton involving an often deadly and rarely seen adversary: aerial drones. Marines and Navy corpsmen had to react to a simulated attack by multiple drones that struck while they were having chow on the edge of a flat, open field."

"The scripted exercise was part of Steel Knight, an annual two-week campaign to train troops for a variety of threats, including drones, whose use in warfare is rapidly rising and becoming ever more public. Ukraine has used small drones to inflict unexpectedly heavy damage on Russian ships, tanks and trenches. Israel killed people in Gaza with the use of quickly assembled sniper drones."

Marines and Navy corpsmen conducted a realistic drill simulating a multi-drone attack while eating at a forward base on an open field. Participants used fake blood, plastic broken bones and acted out severe injuries while Navy corpsmen took charge as battlefield medics. The exercise was part of Steel Knight, an annual two-week campaign preparing troops for diverse threats, with a growing focus on drones. The training reflected recent wartime drone use that inflicted heavy damage on ships, tanks and personnel. Additional medical complications were injected by evaluators to test diagnosis and treatment under stress.

Read at www.sandiegouniontribune.com