BEEHIVE CLASSIC: U.S. Army hosts inaugural drone competition at Fort Moore

FORT MOORE, Ga. (WRBL) — Fort Moore has had competitions running on-post since April. This week’s competition, a drone event called the “Beehive Classic,” was a historic first.

The Beehive Classic is the first small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) competition hosted by the U.S. Army. It began with preliminary rounds on May 6, continuing into the official rounds of competition which kicked off on the morning of May 7.

“Drones are a new, modern change to the battlefield and it’s going to change a lot of the way that we fight from here on out,” said Staff Sgt. Arthur Brown, a competitor on Team 2.

Brown continued, “Getting our feet wet, diving right in and trying to get better at these things I think is going to be important for fighting wars in the future.”

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Competitors taking part in the Beehive Classic represented nine teams from the Maneuver Center of Excellence, based at Fort Moore, and its tenants.

As timer counted down, two-man teams had to complete an ACFT outside Fort Moore’s Lawson Army Airfield before running into a building hosting a drone obstacle course. Teams had to navigate their drones through various obstacles and gather information.

To finish the course, they had to accurately relay information before sending a team into a building at the end of the indoor obstacle course, where trip wires were planted. The goal was to successfully guide the team through the building.

Brown’s teammate, a drill sergeant, was also looking at the competition from an instructor’s perspective. He explained how competitions and trainings using the drone obstacle course could come into play.

“We’re trying to put this into our POI [Program of Instruction] so whenever it comes time for squad, team tactics or field training exercises, we’re putting it in to show the trainees how drones are used in operation and how we can spot them,” Staff Sgt. Alejandro Hinojosa said.

The competitor added that including drone training in instruction for trainees could have significant real-world impacts.

Hinojosa said, “With this and the way that the world is going and the way that wars are going, this is going to help improve and save a lot of lives.”

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The inaugural Beehive Classic will conclude May 8 at Fort Moore, however the drone obstacle course will remain for further training for soldiers.

The first-of-its-kind drone competition speaks to commentary made by acting Army Chief of Staff Randy George and acting Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer at the annual Maneuver Center of Excellence Warfighter Conference in Sep. 2023.

George and Weimer agreed unmanned systems use will become widespread across the Army within the next decade.

At the time, George said, “I see every formation that we have, not just Infantry and Armor formations, but every formation is going to have to use unmanned systems for reconnaissance, for targeting – you name it.”

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