US Marine Corps tests using helicopter as mobile drone command center

The U.S. Marine Corps is testing new ways to combine low-cost drones with traditional aircraft, having recently paired a UH-1Y Venom helicopter with an attack drone in a recent Southern California exercise.

During the test, Marines launched a Neros Archer first-person-view, or FPV, drone from the ground before transferring control to operators aboard a helicopter orbiting miles away, the Corps announced in a statement last week, saying that the move was a step towards integrating inexpensive drones into aviation operations.

The goal, according to the release, was to see if aircraft like the UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper could extend the reach of FPV drones, which let operators watch a live feed of unmanned aircraft system from a screen or goggles.

“The primary objective was to test the feasibility of a non-kinetic drop and deployment of a first-person view drone from a moving helicopter, which we were able to do today,” said Capt. Quinton Thornbury, a UH-1Y Venom pilot with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 169, Marine Air Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. “From there, validate that we can control the maneuver of that drone from the back of the aircraft.”

The service said it used the Neros Archer system because it has already been widely used and tested by Marine infantry units, which makes it easier to integrate into aircraft operations.

Low cost drones have become one of the defining weapons of today’s warfare, with widespread use in conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East, forcing the military to wrestle with new doctrine and cost calculations as it seeks to modernize its forces.

Recently, the service announced that it had quickly expanded its FPV attack drone inventory, fielding more than 3,500 after officials greenlit integration of the new tech.