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Updated on: August 20, 2026 / 1:56 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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The U.S. Army is planning to phase out a drone battalion tasked just last year with studying and taking on board lessons on drone warfare, including from the ongoing Ukraine war, an Army official confirmed to CBS News on Thursday. Multiple current and former U.S. officials told CBS News the decision to nix the unit came amid tension between the senior officers who championed the battalion and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the acting chief of staff of the Army. The unit was pushed by former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and the former commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Gen. Christopher Donahue. Both were fired or forced to retire early, paving the way for LaNeve's rise to acting Army chief of staff. The unit, known as the Unmanned Assault Battalion, was schooled in drone warfare and set to be used as a special group that could deploy anywhere drones were required. The war in Ukraine has highlighted the key role drones now play in warfare for several years. Early in the war launched jointly by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, that message was driven home further as Iran launched one-way attack drones at U.S. military installations across the Middle East. The Unmanned Assault Battalion is participating in an exercise set to run through September, where it will deliver what its members have learned over the past year to inform the Army's future warfare.An Army official told CBS News that, after the exercise, the unit will "refocus on its core warfighting tasks as an airborne infantry battalion," which means the soldiers are trained to parachute and drop out of aircraft. The battalion is part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade.
