US Army Drone Tests Show What Breaks Down in Desert Conditions

At Fort Irwin, California, US Army 4th Infantry Division soldiers tested small uncrewed aerial systems in desert conditions as part of a broader push to prepare for future wars. Business Insider observed systems including the Archer first-person-view drone, Anduril's Bolt-M, Teledyne FLIR Defense's Rogue I, and Teal Drones' Black Widow. The core lesson: drones can expand what soldiers see, but using them effectively requires practice, role changes, and field-ready routines.

High temperatures limited how far and how long operators were willing to fly, with soldiers avoiding longer flights to prevent overheating. The heat affected hardware and battery life, while rocky desert terrain and ridges complicated movement and range for uncrewed ground systems such as the NOMAD. Soldiers also improvised cooling methods, including covering an antenna with a T-shirt soaked in ice water.

Soldiers dealt with connectivity problems tied to simulated enemy jamming, desert ridges, heavy winds, frequency issues, weather, location, and geography. Some drones, including the Archer and Rogue I, have a “return to home” function if they lose contact with operators. The NOMAD ground robot did not have that fallback in the report; when it lost connection, it stopped and required a soldier to retrieve it.

Beyond flight performance, troops had to decide what drone gear, batteries, and support equipment to carry into the field. Soldiers described trade-offs between speed, stealth, capability, and added weight, including leaving drone cases behind and keeping extra batteries in a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. Army leaders said soldier feedback from the exercise was critical for assessing how systems performed.