US Army tests tethered drones on moving Infantry Squad Vehicles to counter signal jamming.

On September 2, 2026, the U.S. Army disclosed that its Maneuver Battle Lab (MBL) completed a field assessment at Fort Benning, Georgia, testing two commercial tethered unmanned aircraft systems (Te-UAS) integrated onto an Infantry Squad Vehicle-Utility (ISV-U). Conducted from July 27 to August 7 in collaboration with Strategic Spectrum Warfare and Maneuver Future Capability teams, the trials evaluated if light vehicles can maintain elevated ISR and communications links while moving through obstructed terrain and hostile electronic jamming. The evaluation focused on verifying follow-mode capabilities, timing launch and recovery cycles, and confirming whether persistent aerial elevation justifies establishment as an official program of record.

The Maneuver Battle Lab tested commercial tethered drones on the five-seat ISV-U at Fort Benning's McKenna Field Landing Site to examine real-time ascent, retraction, static, on-the-move follow-mode, and emergency operations. Soldiers successfully utilized the continuous power and physical data tether to bypass RF signal jamming, extend radio line-of-sight networks, and track distant targets without standard battery endurance limits.

Related topic: US Army disbands its dedicated drone battalion despite Ukraine's latest battlefield success

The interest of testing tethered drones on moving ISVs is to give maneuvering units a persistent, elevated sensor and communications relay that keeps moving with them. (Picture source: US Army)

On September 2, 2026, the U.S. Army disclosed that the Maneuver Battle Lab (MBL) had tested two commercial tethered unmanned aircraft systems (Te-UAS) on an Infantry Squad Vehicle-Utility (ISV-U) at Fort Benning, Georgia, from July 27 to August 7, examining whether a light maneuver vehicle can carry a persistent elevated ISR and communications node while moving through obstructed terrain and operating under jamming. The assessment included static, on-the-move, and emergency scenarios at McKenna Field Landing Site, with operators flying the drones at operationally relevant altitudes, moving between target reference points, timing ascent and retraction, and exercising a follow-mode that kept the Te-UAS above the moving ISV-U. Soldiers used the drones to relay communications over terrain obstacles, bypass signal jamming, and detect targets from greater stand-off distances. The U.S. Army will use soldier feedback, measured performance, and system-footprint data to decide whether the capability merits procurement and development toward a program of record.

The capability under test is a mobile aerial mast, more than a conventional quadcopter. Battery-powered rotary-wing drones generally remain airborne for 20 to 60 minutes, while a tether supplies continuous power and carries data between aircraft and ground station, removing repeated battery recovery and charging cycles. For instance, Elistair's Orion 2 with SAFE-T 2 is rated for up to 50 hours, while Zenith Aerotech completed a 108-hour continuous tethered flight in 2021. A free-flying drone providing 30 minutes on station would require at least 48 sorties to maintain 24-hour coverage before accounting for reserve batteries, overlap, maintenance, or weather. That changes the logistics equation from drone endurance to vehicle power, tether management, and operator workload. Mark Pagliaro, Product Lead Strategic Spectrum Warfare, compared the effect to placing a sensor on a very high tower, except that the tower can change altitude and move with the supported unit.

The ISV-U is the mobility layer for that concept. It is a five-seat utility derivative of the M1301 Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) with a rear cargo bed for reconnaissance, command and control, electronic warfare, counter-UAS, logistics, and fire-support packages, and the U.S. Army announced plans in 2025 to acquire 1,275 ISV-U vehicles in FY2026. The underlying ISV weighs 2,236 kg, carries a 3,200-lb payload, uses a 2.8-liter turbo-diesel producing 275 hp, and has a 24-volt electrical system. The baseline nine-seat vehicle can be sling-loaded beneath a UH-60, carried internally or externally by a CH-47, and transported by C-130 or C-17. The Te-UAS integration therefore has to preserve the vehicle's mobility while adding the aircraft, tether reel, control station, power conversion equipment, sensor or radio payload, and spares. The follow-mode trial specifically tested whether that equipment could remain useful during movement rather than only after the vehicle stopped.

The main tactical gain comes from elevation. Hills, buildings, forests, and vegetation can simultaneously block tactical radios and ground-mounted optical sensors, forcing units to use retransmission teams, antenna masts, or exposed observation positions. Tactical tethered aircraft commonly operate on 50 to 100 m tethers, placing cameras and antennas tens of meters above the 2 to 4 m height typical of vehicle-mounted equipment. That improves radio line of sight and expands the field of view without requiring soldiers to occupy dominant terrain. At Fort Benning, operators moved between target reference points while using the Te-UAS to relay communications over terrain obstacles and detect targets from safer distances. The relevant comparison is therefore not simply Te-UAS versus free-flying drones, but Te-UAS versus antenna systems, retransmission teams, vehicle masts, and observation posts that obtain the same elevation by less mobile means.

The tether also changes the electronic warfare exposure. Conventional small UAS normally depend on RF links for command, telemetry, and payload transmission and often on GPS/GNSS for navigation, creating channels that can be jammed, spoofed, intercepted, or detected. A physical tether can carry control commands and high-bandwidth sensor data directly between a drone and its ground station, reducing RF dependence and allowing video or other sensor traffic to remain on the cable. U.S. Army requirements for vehicle-integrated tethered systems have emphasized reduced electromagnetic signatures, GPS-denied operation, extended endurance, and compatibility with crewed and uncrewed vehicles. The Fort Benning scenarios explicitly included bypassing signal jamming. Ukraine provides a related operational comparison, where Russian and Ukrainian forces increasingly use fiber-optic-controlled attack drones to avoid RF jamming, although those drones fly kilometers toward targets while a Te-UAS remains within its tether radius.

Communications relay could be as important as the camera payload. Ground systems such as the OE-254 require personnel, setup time, suitable terrain, and a fixed position, while a tethered drone can lift a radio or networking payload tens of meters above the vehicle and move when the vehicle moves. Elistair's Orion 2 and SAFE-T 2 combination offers a deployment in approximately 15 minutes, allowing the drone to function as a variable-height antenna. Depending on payload, a Te-UAS can therefore support software-defined radios, Wi-Fi, LTE, MANET, MIMO, and MN-MIMO networking, carrying voice, data, position, and imagery between dispersed users. That does not eliminate the need for satellite communications or ground relays, but it could reduce the number of retransmission positions required across broken terrain. Fort Benning therefore tested communications extension and target detection during the same iterations because both effects depend on the same factor: altitude.

Manpower is another procurement variable. Capt. Sarah Runion reported that she could launch the tested aircraft within minutes and recover it through a one-step command, while Pagliaro said operation was largely hands-off once airborne. Automated ascent, altitude control, follow-mode, retraction, and landing determine whether every Te-UAS needs a dedicated pilot or whether one Soldier can monitor imagery, manage communications, and supervise the aircraft simultaneously. That distinction becomes significant on missions lasting 12, 24, or 50 hours. Tethered power reduces battery handling but does not eliminate logistics because the vehicle must still carry the aircraft, reel, control station, spares, payload, and electrical equipment while supplying continuous power. The useful acquisition metric is therefore persistent coverage per Soldier and per vehicle rather than endurance alone. MBL's workload, footprint, launch, recovery, and field-performance measurements are intended to determine whether that burden is acceptable for maneuver units before selecting a contractor, production quantity, unit price, or procurement schedule.

Explore More Defense News

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

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.