LAT: 29.9741°N  |  LON: 81.7781°W  |  ALT: 42M  |  STATUS: UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED // FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
U.S. National Drone Association  |  Camp Blanding, FL  |  25 MAR – 2 APR 2026
After Action
Report
Drone Crucible
26-1
Accelerating Drone Dominance. Forging the Future of Unmanned Warfare.
USNDA Logo
USNDA
Swarm Forge Logo
Swarm Forge
DDP Logo
Drone Dominance Program
Servicemembers
77
Vendor Systems
~40
Event Phases
6
Duration
12 Days
↓  SCROLL TO BRIEF  ↓
3
DoW Initiatives Supported
7+
Military Components
6
Operational Phases
2026
Series: 4 Crucibles Planned
Event Footage
Event recap
▶  Drone Crucible 26-1 Official Highlight Reel  |  Camp Blanding, FL  |  25 Mar – 2 Apr 2026
Mission Brief
The 5 W's
Who
JOINT FORCE
77 OPERATORS
What
DRONE
CRUCIBLE 26-1
When
25 MAR –
2 APR 2026
Where
CAMP BLANDING
FLORIDA
Why
AMERICAN DRONE
DOMINANCE
WHO PARTICIPATED

A total of 77 servicemembers from across the U.S. joint force participated in Drone Crucible 26-1, alongside government stakeholders, Swarm Forge personnel, and select industry partners. Participating elements spanned Naval Special Warfare, USMC, Army Special Forces, Air National Guard, and allied partners.

NSW Group 1 / ST1, ST5, ST7
NSW Group 2 / ST4, ST8
USMC 4th ANGLICO
USMC 4th LAR
4th MARDIV Gunner
MARSOC
USMC EOD / WTBN
3/20th SFG (SOCOM)
FL ANG 125th FW EOD
UK Royal Marines
OSW / DIU (DDP)
CDAO / OUSD (Swarm Forge)
Drone Team Operations
Night Operations
Drone Controller
WHAT WAS EXECUTED

Drone Crucible 26-1 (DC 26-1) was a multi-service, multi-stakeholder experimentation and operational integration event executed by the U.S. National Drone Association (USNDA) in coordination with the Department of War. The event simultaneously enabled three critical DoW initiatives:


OSW Drone Dominance Program (DDP): Hands-on evaluation of ~40 vendor-provided drone systems. Mr. George Rumford (Sr. Advisor to DEPSECWAR) provided overview of Gauntlet 2; Mr. Travis Metz (DDP Lead) delivered program remarks.


Swarm Forge: SECWAR's #1 Pace Setting Program, announced by Mr. David Gibion, led by CDAO under OUSD/RE. Live multi-agent swarm testing and evaluation throughout the week.


USSOCOM & Joint Service UxS: Cross-service TTP co-development, force-on-force scenarios, live-fire, and counter-UAS experiments advancing joint interoperability and mission readiness.

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DDP Industry Day Fly-Off
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Swarm Forge Demo
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WHEN IT OCCURRED

Drone Crucible 26-1 was conducted from March 23 – April 2, 2026 — a 10-day integrated event structured as six sequential, escalating phases.


MAR 23-26
Integration & DDP Industry Day
MAR 25-29
TTP Co-Development
MAR 30
Counter-UAS & Kinetic
MAR 31 – APR 1
Joint Live-Fire Competition
APR 1
Air-Launched FPV Ops
APR 2
Consolidation & AAR

DC 26-1 is the first in a planned series of four 2026 Drone Crucibles, establishing a repeatable mechanism to iteratively refine U.S. drone warfare capabilities.

WHERE IT WAS CONDUCTED

Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Florida — a premier multi-domain training environment providing the terrain, airspace, and range infrastructure needed to execute complex, live-fire, multi-domain unmanned systems operations.


The facility enabled simultaneous execution of:

  • Open-field drone flight operations and swarm testing
  • Close-quarters combat (CQC) scenarios with live UxS integration
  • Ballistic Counter-UAS engagements with live aerial targets
  • Maritime target engagement over open water
  • Air-launched FPV operations from UH-60L at standoff distance
  • Night operations under degraded visibility conditions
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Camp Blanding Range Complex
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Operations Area Overview
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WHY IT MATTERS

DC 26-1 directly supported the Secretary of War memorandums "Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance" (Jul 10, 2025) and "Accelerating America's Military AI Dominance" (Jan 9, 2026). The Crucible model is purpose-built to:


  • Break down service-level silos and accelerate joint interoperability
  • Expose operational vulnerabilities and friction points in command and control
  • Enable rapid iteration of TTPs under realistic, live-fire conditions
  • Create continuous feedback loops between operators, technologists, and decision-makers
  • Accelerate transition from prototype to operational deployment
  • Advance "one-to-many" swarm operational concepts and doctrine

The Crucible is the mechanism. Drone Dominance is the outcome.

Event Execution
Six Operational Phases
01
Integration & DDP Industry Day
23 – 26 March 2026
+
Participant arrival, range familiarization, and early-stage technology testing enabled units and vendors to validate systems in the operational environment. Co-executed with the DDP Industry Day — approximately 40 pre-selected vendors demonstrated systems to participating military teams.
  • Hands-on operator evaluation of ~40 vendor drone systems
  • DDP Town Hall with Mr. Rumford (DEPSECWAR) and Mr. Metz (DDP Lead)
  • Gauntlet 2 program overview delivered
  • Swarm Forge initiation: baseline swarm functionality testing
  • Panel discussions aligning operators, acquisition, and industry
DDP Industry Day
DDP Briefing
DDP Speaker
02
TTP Co-Development & Scenario-Based Operations
25 – 29 March 2026
+
Focus shifted to collaborative TTP development. Military teams engaged in both free-play experimentation and structured Warfighter Advisory Board scenarios incorporating complex operational elements — including night operations to stress systems under degraded visibility.
  • Close-quarters combat (CQC) with live UxS integration
  • Adversary ISR presence and QRF dynamics
  • Multi-domain coordination with role players
  • WARNO dissemination and pre-mission intel updates
  • Night operations under degraded visibility
  • Cross-service interoperability and friction point identification
TTP Co-Development
TTP Operations
CQC Scenario
03
Counter-UAS & Kinetic Integration
30 March 2026
+
The Ballistic Counter-UAS event evaluated experimental shotgun and 5.56mm solutions against live drone targets, providing insight into the effectiveness and integration challenges of low-cost kinetic defenses in force protection concepts.
  • Live-drone targets engaged with experimental ballistic solutions
  • Shotgun and 5.56mm effectiveness assessed
  • Engagement envelopes and accuracy under operational conditions
  • Integration challenges with existing force protection concepts
Counter-UAS Engagement
FPV HUD Weapon Armed
04
Air-Launched FPV Drone Operations
1 April 2026
+
Deployment of FPV drones from a moving FLA RNG UH-60L helicopter — a crawl-walk-run progression from static hover through slow orbital flight to full forward-flight profiles up to 80 knots, with launch distances extending to ~5km from target area.
  • FPV drone deployed from moving UH-60L rotary-wing platform
  • Structured progression: static hover → ≤20 kts orbital → ≤80 kts forward flight
  • Launch distances up to ~5km from target area
  • Drone Team Leader, FPV Pilot, Antenna Operator, PIC/JTAC coordination
  • Extended-range, low-signature strike concept validated
  • Critical gaps in comms resilience and antenna alignment identified
Air-Launched FPV
Air Launch Operations
05
Joint Live-Fire Competition & Target Engagement
31 March – 1 April 2026
+
High-intensity live-fire events integrating multiple systems and teams across land and maritime domains.
  • LAND (Mar 31): Joint drone teams + 60mm mortar competitive engagements against unknown targets
  • Rapid target ID, precision strike, and aerial/indirect fire coordination
  • MARITIME (Apr 1): Drone strikes against moving maritime targets
  • Coordination with helicopter-based live fire
  • Multi-domain targeting demonstrated
  • UxS effectiveness against dynamic targets validated
Maritime Strike
Target Engagement
06
Consolidation & After Action Review
2 April 2026
+
The event concluded with a comprehensive AAR bringing together participants across operational, technical, and organizational domains to capture lessons learned and identify capability gaps requiring Department-level action.
  • Synthesis of operator feedback across all phases
  • Identification of high-impact capabilities for rapid transition
  • Systemic gaps requiring DoW-level action flagged
  • Swarm Forge findings briefed to stakeholders
  • Requirements submitted to program leadership
AAR Debrief Session
Swarm Forge
SECWAR'S #1 PACE SETTING PROGRAM
Swarm Forge
From One, Many

Led by CDAO under OUSD/RE, Swarm Forge conducted live multi-agent drone coordination experiments throughout DC 26-1, focusing on coordinated multi-agent flight, distributed tasking and control, and scalability of swarm behaviors in contested environments. Findings directly informed technical development priorities and emerging swarm TTP concepts.

// THE INTEGRATION ENGINE
The Swarm Forge Method
USASOC Swarm Forge served as the technical engine behind DC 26-1 — translating operator intent into integrated capability on an accelerated timeline.
01 // METHOD
MOSA Modular Open Systems Approach
Expert Integration
USASOC Swarm Forge worked side-by-side with commercial partners — including Gambit and Victus — troubleshooting and co-developing in real time. The team's internal Sky Breaker software stack served as the foundational backbone, translating operator requirements into technical specifications so best-in-breed commercial innovations could plug directly into a government-owned architecture. Hands-on government integration de-risks new technology and keeps the final capability flexible, adaptable, and warfighter-owned.
02 // RESULT
expert integration AUTONOMOUS ISR SWARM
Capability Forged at Speed
On an accelerated timeline, the team integrated multiple commercial technologies into a government-owned architecture to produce a functional, five-drone autonomous ISR swarm. Crucible 26-1 validated both the swarm capability in the field and the integration model that made it possible — establishing the technical baseline for everything that follows.
03 // NEXT STEPS
14+ Industry Partners
25+ SIMULTANEOUS DRONES
CSO Down-Select at Crucible 26-2
Crucible 26-2 serves as the formal competitive down-select for the Swarm Forge Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO). 14+ of the nation's top technology companies will operate head-to-head, with demonstrations involving 25+ drones simultaneously — identifying the partners with the expertise to perform at the scale and complexity the future fight demands.
Crucible 26-1 forged the model. → Crucible 26-2 forges the team.
Results & Findings
Key Outcomes
CAPABILITY
Rapid Capability Maturation
~40 vendor systems evaluated under operational conditions. Immediate feedback loops generated actionable requirements for acquisition, identifying high-potential platforms and critical gaps in interoperability and scalability.
SWARM
Swarm Concept Validation
First live experimentation of "one-to-many" multi-agent drone coordination under DoW auspices. Key technical and doctrinal gaps in swarm deployment identified — directly informing SWARM Forge roadmap.
JOINT OPS
Joint Interoperability
Cross-service TTP co-development achieved across NSW, USMC, Army SF, and allied partners. Shared mission scenarios exposed friction points in C2, communications architecture, and multi-domain coordination.
STRIKE
Air-Launched Strike Concept
FPV drone deployment from moving UH-60L at ≤80 knots demonstrated potential for extended-range, low-signature strike capability. Critical comms and antenna challenges identified for follow-on development.
CUAS
Counter-UAS Integration
Ballistic CUAS solutions evaluated against live aerial targets, providing ground truth on engagement envelopes and integration challenges with existing force protection concepts under operational conditions.
SERIES
Crucible Model Validated
DC 26-1 confirmed the Crucible as an effective mechanism for accelerating capability maturation and aligning operational needs with emerging technologies — establishing the template for three follow-on 2026 events.
Strategic Assessment
Strategic Insights
01 -- DOCTRINE
TTP Development at Speed

The Crucible model proves that joint doctrine can be iteratively developed in real-time alongside technology — compressing the traditional requirements-to-fielding cycle from years to days.

02 -- GAPS
Comms & C2 Are the Critical Path

Across multiple phases, communications architecture and command-and-control emerged as the primary friction point — not platform capability. Standardized protocols are required before scaling.

03 -- SCALE
Swarm Is the Future Force Multiplier

Multi-agent coordination experiments demonstrated exponential potential — but also exposed the doctrinal vacuum surrounding swarm employment. SWARM Forge must be resourced to fill this gap urgently.

04 -- INTEGRATION
Manned-Unmanned Integration Is Now

The UH-60L FPV experiment demonstrated that manned-unmanned teaming is operationally viable today. The limiting factor is not technology — it is standardized launch protocols and integration doctrine.

Way Ahead
Recommendations &
Next Steps
01
Prioritize Comms Architecture
Develop and standardize communications protocols for multi-domain UxS operations, addressing identified gaps in C2 under dynamic conditions before DC 26-2.
02
Accelerate Swarm Forge Resourcing
Resource Swarm Forge as SECWAR's #1 pace-setting program — expand experimentation scope, increase vendor participation, and develop multi-agent employment doctrine.
03
Formalize Air-Launched FPV Program
Develop standardized launch protocols, antenna solutions, and training pipelines for manned-unmanned FPV integration across rotary-wing platforms.
04
Transition High-Potential DDP Systems
Fast-track identified high-potential vendor systems from evaluation to acquisition, using operator feedback from DC 26-1 to drive DDP procurement decisions.
05
Execute Crucible 26-2 Through 26-4
Maintain the planned 2026 Crucible series cadence, incorporating DC 26-1 lessons learned to increase complexity, expand participation, and refine the Crucible model.