The Swiss army conducted new field tests of minidrones on Monday in Elm (GL), in the presence of the media. The tests aim to master these versatile devices, which can be used for reconnaissance but also be transformed into precision weapons.
Within the Swiss army, ‘drones are increasingly expanding the possibilities in terms of reconnaissance and attack’, we can read on the press invitation. Minidrones are used for reconnaissance and exploration missions and make it possible to collect information without putting human lives in danger.
But ‘equipped with explosive charges, they become a precision weapon capable of combating targets’, writes the army in an information sheet. On the Ukrainian front, their massive use has profoundly changed the way of waging war: armies must therefore learn to protect their troops, their vehicles, their equipment and their infrastructure against minidrones.
Trained in FPV piloting
For the Swiss army, it is a question of carrying out early tests in order to learn to master this technology. As part of field tests in the fall of 2025, it has already trained 20 recruits in piloting so-called First Person View (FPV) drones. This is an immersive piloting mode, using FPV glasses which allow you to view live video feedback.
As in 2025, the tests carried out on Monday in Elm by the Defense Drones and Robotics Competence Center aimed to integrate teams of FPV drones into combat formations. On the Wichlen shooting range, the aim was to test the interaction between drone intervention teams and combat formations, and to develop intervention procedures.
The use of drones in crises and conflicts has become the norm, underlines the Swiss army. Faced with the multiplication of threats, the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (DDPS) created the Drones Task Force in June 2024.
/ATS
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