British soldiers are practicing using First Person View (FPV) drones, after the military technology’s frequent use in Ukraine, the Army has confirmed.
According to UK Defence Journal, soldiers have been enrolled on a three-week course, held between 7 and 25 July, introduced troops to One Way Attack (OWA) operations, where drones carrying small explosive charges are flown directly at enemy targets. The intensive training combined classroom lessons, simulator hours and live field exercises.
The programme was led by 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment’s Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Platoon. The platoon is a first for the British Army, which is seeking to harness modern war-tech to prepare for future conflicts.
Colour Sergeant Danny Wade, who commanded the training, told the outlet: “We’re teaching soldiers from the ground up how to configure and fly FPV UAS and then how to fight with them, working as a team alongside reconnaissance drones to find and strike targets.
“It’s very different training and FPV flying is a hard skill to learn, but everyone has put the effort in and progressed well.”
Soldiers remarked on the challenge of operating the drones. Kingsman Kaidyn Hilton, of 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, said: “FPV drones are hard to fly, because you are fully in control of it, whereas a normal drone is basically on autopilot and you’re directing it where to go. There’s a dose of adrenaline, because you know you’ve got control of a weapon that can hit bigger targets more quickly than the infantry used to be able to do. This is where warfare is going, and it is interesting to be part of it.”
This comes as new figures revealed the British Army is getting smaller, despite escalating global threats. MoD showed that the regular army has brought in more recruits, but the number joining up are being outstripped by the numbers leaving.
In the year to June 30, 13,520 recruits joined the regular forces — an uptick of 1,580, or 13%, on the previous year. However, 14,020 left, a fall of 1,700, or 11%, over the same period. Meanwhile, in the year to July, 3,840 people joined the reserves, 40 fewer than last year, while 4,210 left, creating a shortfall of 370.
Applications to join the British Army as a regular soldier or officer increased by a massive 43.4%, or 162,170, in the 12 months to March 31 2025, compared with the previous year. In the same time frame, applications to the volunteer reserves swelled from 24,660 to 31,450, or 27.5%. Yet despite this, Britain’s entire armed forces – the army, Royal Navy, and RAF – has shrunk by 2% since July last year.