VIDEO. This is a revolution, similar to gunpowder or the tank: the French army organizes its first international military drone competition

Several foreign teams faced off in Haute-Marne on Wednesday to compare their strike capabilities with these flying machines, whose development has accelerated with the war in Ukraine.

This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the above report. Click on the video to watch it in its entirety.

Images usually reserved for theaters of war. On Wednesday, May 20, it was only a military competition organized in Haute-Marne, at the 61st artillery regiment, between teams from several European countries. Under the watchful eye of judges wearing white masks, a drone team targets a balloon on a moving pick-up.

“The team consists of a pilot and what we call a spotter. The pilot is the one who will drive and lead the strike. And the spotter is the one who will make the little corrections, who will have an overview of what’s happening,” explains Lieutenant Leo, section leader.

For two days, around fifty military teams compete in several events. In the soldiers’ kit: an assault rifle, but above all a drone. The French are participating, as well as many foreign soldiers. They are all here to share their piloting experience. “Among allies, we can talk about our skills, our equipment, and our gear,” emphasizes Major Pawel, a Polish soldier.

The event is an opportunity to improve in handling a weapon that has become essential on the battlefield. “It’s a military revolution. Is it also an industrial and societal revolution? I think so. But in any case, it’s a military revolution, maybe akin to gunpowder, maybe akin to the tank,” observes Pierre Schill, Chief of Staff of the Army.

Drones have been constantly evolving since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, and the market is now being invested in by manufacturers to produce increasingly powerful machines. In Haute-Marne, the challenge was won by a French team, the 13th Paratrooper Dragoon Regiment.