In the 1st Armored Brigade in Wesoła there are courses for drone operators. They are run by instructors from the Vespa BSP Section Training Centre. Soldiers learn to pilot unmanned vehicles, defend themselves from enemy drones, and work on BSP constructions. “The skills I gain here are besides needed in my specialization,” says the sharpshooter who takes part in the course.
Vespa Training Centre has been operating in Wesoła for respective months and runs respective types of courses for unmanned operators. The training is prepared not only for the 1st Brigade but besides for soldiers of another units. A basic pilot course for unmanned FPV aircraft is presently underway (controlled by goggles or tiny screens) which are utilized on the battlefield to conduct reconnaissance but can besides be utilized to destruct targets. This course is conducted in hybrid mode. This means that soldiers can carry out any training in their units. – They participate in theoretical classes online. In their unit, they practice on a simulator all day. They come to Wesoła for exams, which are besides conducted at the various stages of the course," explains Captain Cyprian Kaczmarczyk, commander of the Vespa Training Centre.
Micro and larger structures
After six weeks of training in hybrid mode, there is simply a week of applicable training, during which soldiers have the chance to test their skills. They operate drones of different sizes – from 17-grams – which are utilized to learn precision piloting techniques, but besides check during the area designation mission – for larger drones with wingspan of 40 cm, which can scope a velocity of up to 200 km/h and carry several-kilogram loads.
In training outside soldiers from 1 BPlac participate, among others, the military from the subdivisions of light infantry troops of territorial defence. – The most hard component on the basic course is the mastery of manual control – the deputy commandant of the Vespa centre points out (because of the specificity of the name unit we do not give). Most drones utilized during training are simple constructions that are not equipped with e.g. flight control support, like commercial ones. All readings by a soldier must be performed on their own, and the advanced power of these machines and the ability to accelerate rapidly require a long training from the operator on the simulator. This is confirmed by the 1st BPanc. He admits that he is not an amateur of computer games, so he must put more work into the manual exercises essential to control unmanned vehicles. I myself have sought to take this course. I think that the skills I will get here will besides be useful in my specialization," says the marksman.
Training ends with exams. As the teacher points out – 90 percent of the students report, and the best will be able to take part in advanced training. It besides includes night, combat flights with cargo discharges, kamikaze impact drone missions, long-distance flights over 10 km, and work in sections that consist of pilot, navigator and technique. Their goal is to train to increase the chances of surviving soldiers in the event of a drone attack on the battlefield. “It is crucial for us not only to fly and to do the job, but besides to choice the right position for the operator and to plan specified actions to minimise the hazard of detection by the opponent under masking conditions,” says Vespy’s commander.
Recognize, defend, attack
At the same time, there is besides a weekly training for impact drone pilots in Wesoła. It is attended by soldiers from mechanized, reconnaissance units motorized, but besides from peculiar troops, logistics sub-divisions and tank sub-divisions. – We presume that all soldier, regardless of speciality, should get acquainted with specified drones, due to the fact that even if he does not usage them himself on the battlefield, he must number on being utilized by their opponent – the teacher points out. Besides, as he adds, you never know what the task will be before the soldiers of command and the battlefield itself. “The course participants learn what these machines actually see, how to defend themselves from the drones of the enemy and what behaviour to avoid not exposing their positions,” emphasizes 1 of the soldiers conducting the course.
Development of fresh structures
Training in the Vespa Centre is divided into 3 main parts. The first concerns reconnaissance drones. The second is training in the operation of impact drones, the next is method courses, during which students learn how to build drones, repair or modify them. The centre presently has 20 instructors. The shortest classes last a week, and the most specialized ones, like those on FPV drones, take about 7 weeks.
Until now, courses in Vespa have passed by troops with 16 units, both land troops, territorial defence, as well as troops and peculiar services, and military education units. A full of over 300 soldiers. The head of the centre ensures that the programs are updated on an ongoing basis, both in terms of experiences from the Ukrainian front and Polish needs. – Procedures and fresh systems are tested during polygon exercises – says Captain Cyprian Kaczmarczyk.
Most of the staff have already gained competence related to drones controlled by fibre optics, making machines resistant to radioelectronic interference from the enemy.
Soldiers from Vespa during work in the laboratory make fresh method solutions utilizing 3D printing, which let to adjust drones to circumstantial requirements. They test BSP detection solutions and make training materials for drone protection.
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