The US Army has tested an explosive-carrying drone assembled and operated by soldiers, in an exercise the unit described as a first conducted without contractor support.
The 2nd Cavalry Regiment carried out the live-fire exercise on September 30, 2026, at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. The aircraft was an Orqa MRM2-10, assembled from manufacturer-provided components and fitted with a custom 3D-printed explosive container. Soldiers designed and prepared the container, which the regiment calls the “Dragoon bomb.”
According to the unit, the project followed more than two years of development. The container can carry nearly two pounds of explosives. The drone can reportedly strike from more than three miles away with expert guidance. An additional receiver could extend the stated operating distance beyond 12 miles, though performance depends on conditions.
During the exercise, soldiers loaded 250 grams of C-4 and M6 low-voltage blasting caps into the casing. Staff Sgt. Angel Caliz flew the aircraft more than one mile to its designated target. The flight took less than five minutes, while another drone relayed the strike to nearby observers.
Capt. Michael Bapp called it a “conventional Army first,” and said it could be the first such live kinetic drone strike across the Army without contractor support. The account describes one exercise; it does not establish how the system would perform against moving or defended targets.
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