U.S. Special Forces Expand Small Attack Drone Capabilities with Explosive Payloads.

U.S. Army Green Berets are expanding their ability to use small drones as precision attack systems, with imagery released by DVIDS on September 17, 2026, showing 5th Special Forces Group soldiers preparing an explosive payload for a drone at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The August 14 training highlights how Special Forces are integrating low-cost unmanned strike capabilities that can give small teams a way to attack targets while limiting direct exposure to enemy fire.

The training tested the effects of explosive-ordnance small attack drones while operators used first-person-view systems providing a live feed from the aircraft. This combination of precision control, explosive payloads, and compact unmanned platforms could extend the reach and lethality of Special Forces teams as drone warfare becomes increasingly central to reconnaissance and direct-action missions.

Related Topic: U.S. Army Selects IDV's VIKING UGV for Autonomous Minefield and Battlefield Breaching Trials

U.S. Army Green Berets are expanding their small attack drone capabilities by training with explosive payloads designed to deliver precision battlefield effects against enemy targets (Picture Source: U.S. Army)

On September 17, 2026, the U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) released imagery documenting a significant drone-training activity involving Soldiers from the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Conducted on August 14, the training showed Special Forces personnel preparing an explosive charge on a drone before takeoff while testing what the Army described as the capabilities and effects of explosive-ordnance small attack drones. Beyond the individual training event, the imagery offers a revealing glimpse into how U.S. Army Special Forces are adapting to a battlefield increasingly shaped by unmanned systems.

The imagery shows Soldiers assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) preparing the unmanned aircraft before flight. According to the official DVIDS caption, the purpose of the training was specifically to evaluate the capabilities and effects of explosive-ordnance small attack drones. The publicly released material does not identify the drone model, explosive configuration, payload characteristics, range, guidance system or intended employment method, and DVIDS states that the imagery was edited to comply with operational-security requirements. That limited disclosure is itself noteworthy: the Army has publicly confirmed experimentation with the lethal application of small unmanned aircraft while deliberately withholding the technical details that would reveal how the capability is configured or employed.

The involvement of 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) gives the exercise particular operational significance. Based at Fort Campbell, the Green Beret formation is organized around small teams capable of conducting missions including unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, direct action and foreign internal defense, frequently in austere environments and with a high degree of independence. Within such formations, portable unmanned systems can offer another layer of reconnaissance, situational awareness and battlefield effects without replacing the traditional competencies of Special Forces operators. The emerging picture is not simply one of Green Berets learning to fly drones, but of unmanned systems becoming increasingly relevant to how small Special Forces elements may observe, understand and influence their operating environment.

The wording used in the DVIDS announcement is particularly important. The Army did not describe the Fort Campbell activity merely as flight familiarization or reconnaissance training; it explicitly stated that Soldiers were testing the “capabilities and effects” of explosive-ordnance small attack drones. That distinction places the activity within the expanding lethal dimension of U.S. military unmanned-system experimentation. Small drones that were once primarily associated with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance are increasingly being assessed as platforms capable of delivering effects at tactical level. The Fort Campbell training reflects a broader transition from viewing small unmanned aircraft principally as airborne sensors toward treating them as potentially integrated components of a maneuver force's wider combat architecture.

That evolution is consistent with the wider transformation underway across the U.S. Army. During 2026, the service intensified efforts to incorporate lessons from the widespread battlefield use of unmanned aircraft into doctrine, training and tactical formations. Army publications have emphasized that units must move beyond basic proficiency in operating small UAS toward understanding how unmanned platforms and loitering systems can be integrated with tactical maneuver. Seen against that institutional backdrop, the 5th Special Forces Group exercise appears less like an isolated drone demonstration and more like one element of a broader effort to turn unmanned aircraft from specialist equipment into routinely understood battlefield tools. The emphasis is increasingly on integration: connecting sensors, unmanned platforms, maneuver elements and available fires rather than treating drones as a separate technological category.

The timing provides additional context. Only ten days after the August 14 Fort Campbell event, personnel from across Army special operations formations participated in the inaugural 1st Special Forces Command Best Drone Team Competition, held from August 24 to 28, 2026. That separate event brought together teams from Special Forces formations, the 75th Ranger Regiment and the 101st Airborne Division to demonstrate unmanned-system proficiency across different tactical environments. There is no public evidence establishing a direct connection between the two activities, but together they illustrate the increasing attention being placed on unmanned capabilities across the Army special-operations ecosystem. The trend points toward something broader than creating individual drone specialists: formations are increasingly expected to understand how unmanned aircraft can be incorporated into tactical decision-making alongside established capabilities.

For the United States Army Special Forces, the modern combat toolkit is expanding well beyond rifles, grenade launchers, traditional supporting fires and conventional close air support. Those capabilities remain fundamental, but unmanned aircraft, robotic systems, counter-drone technologies and digitally connected sensors are becoming additional elements within the same battlefield ecosystem. The August 14 training at Fort Campbell provides a rare publicly released snapshot of that transition. It does not establish a new doctrine, reveal a specific operational capability or disclose how 5th Special Forces Group would employ such systems in combat. What it does demonstrate is equally significant: Green Berets are actively testing how small attack drones and their battlefield effects can be understood and incorporated alongside the traditional tools of special operations.

The emerging transformation is not about replacing the Special Forces operator's traditional arsenal. It is about expanding it. In an environment where unmanned systems are increasingly present across the battlefield, the ability to integrate drones into reconnaissance, maneuver and tactical effects is becoming another dimension of combat proficiency, and the 5th Special Forces Group's Fort Campbell training offers a clear public indication that U.S. Army Special Forces are preparing for that reality.

Explore More Defense News

• Land Defense News
• Naval Defense News
• Defense Aerospace News

Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.