AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from Tom’s Hardware, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

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The U.S. Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based in Bavaria, Germany, has launched an attack drone it claims is the first one its unit has built and flown. According to Stars and Stripes, soldiers of the Dragoons assembled an Orqa MRM2-10 drone and fitted it with a 3D-printed casing called "Dragoon bombs." These explosives can be modified; for example, they could include ball bearings to target enemy personnel or use a shaped charge to defeat light armor.

Capt. Michael Bapp, the company commander, told Stars and Stripes that this represents a conventional Army first and potentially an Army-wide first as far as live, kinetic drone strikes conducted without contractor or external unit support. Col. Timothy Price, the regiment commander, added that today’s success demonstrates the Dragoons are adapting existing systems to meet threats with a capable and credible force.

While large unmanned vehicles have been used in combat by the U.S. military for decades, the use of small commercial drones gained widespread attention after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The cost efficiency and availability of these devices helped Ukraine offset Russia’s numerical advantage. Both sides now use drones for tactical and strategic missions, and this deployment has spread to other conflicts, including those in the Middle East.