101st Airbone soldiers test battlefield of the future
How Army is testing new tech for future conflicts
Deep in the backwoods of Louisiana, an experimental unit of 101st Airborne soldiers is setting out with cutting-edge technology.
Sergeant First Class Anthony Clark says his unit is exploring a new way of fighting that includes surveillance and attack drones, decoys and jammers directed by laptops or a cellphone app.
“We’re [here] to create those tactics, we’re [here] to create those standard operating procedures so that the next generation of soldiers understands from our mistakes and can be even more effective with the systems,” Clark said.
Some of the innovations come from lessons drawn directly from the battlefields of Ukraine, where electronic warfare is advancing by the minute on both sides of the fight.
Now, the 101st’s vehicle looks like something out of “Mad Max.”
“Even in World War II, they were using brand new equipment, brand new methods and they were extremely successful and they learned from their mistakes,” Clark said.
The 101st Airborne Division went into action during World War II. The Screaming Eagles were among the first Americans to descend into France on D-Day.
Once again, everything is changing.
The command post — well hidden in the trees — is minuscule. It’s a fraction of the size Major General Brett Sylvia commanded 10 years ago.
“My command post was 10 different tents, 40 different vehicles, all kinds of huge radars and antennas that were everywhere. It was easy to see and therefore, easy to kill,” Sylvia said.
In today’s environment, the art of deception goes beyond face paint and camouflage. It’s running fiber-optic cables to antennas hundreds of yards away from the command center, then spreading out decoys — off-the-shelf circuit boards made to look like laptops and cell phones.
“Just the other night, the enemy was completely deceived by that and put an artillery barrage on just a bunch of decoys that were out in a field, and then this command post stayed safe and sound,” Sylvia said.
It’s not like hiding a needle in a haystack, but “hiding a needle in a stack of needles,” Sylvia said.
They’re also experimenting with robotic vehicles, for the moment controlled by Lieutenant Parker Mitchell.
“There’s no reason to trade blood for blood when we can trade blood for steel,” Mitchell said.
Putting that steel to work on future battlefields will not be without its challenges and rewards, said Specialist William Bateman.
“I mean, it gives me chills thinking about it that right now we’re in the middle of molding the future and participating in history being made. It’s absolutely stunning,” Bateman said.
Now, a new generation is putting innovation to the test on the battlefields of the future.
Charlie D’Agata is CBS News’ senior national security correspondent. He was previously a senior foreign correspondent and has spent more than two decades covering international news for CBS.
