In the ever-evolving landscape of innovative military technology, Fort Indiantown Gap (FTIG) remains one of the nation’s leaders in training soldiers how to use new types of equipment.
Currently, FTIG’s 116th Regiment – Regional Training Institute (RTI) is equipping soldiers in its small unmanned aerial system operator course with the knowledge and skills to fly the new RQ-28A short-range reconnaissance quadcopter. As part of the course, soldiers completed a field training exercise at the Army schoolhouse Thursday, June 6.
The Army’s newest drone serves as a replacement for its predecessor, the RQ-11B Raven, an aircraft with fixed wings. According to the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Aviation, the RQ-28A is a small aircraft in the Army’s first record quadcopter program that takes off and lands vertically.
The RQ-28A allows soldiers to keep their distance while gathering and quickly reporting information from the location; conducting reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition operations involving terrain features.
“It has made it easier to keep that distance between the friendlies and enemies and gives the commander more time to react and lead his troops and come up with more efficient routes and tactical strategies,” said Staff Sgt. Luis Andujar, an instructor with the 166th RTI, in a news release by Spc. Aliyah Vivier.
“It’s real-time data collection on the battlefield,” said Andujar.
Fort Indiantown Gap, located in northern Lebanon County, regularly tops the list as the busiest National Guard training center in the U.S., hosting over 139,000 personnel in 2023.
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