Swiss Armed Forces continue to develop their skills in the area of drones
Bern, 21.11.2025 — Fifteen recruits completed training as First-Person View drone pilots, in order to be subsequently deployed with the troops in a field experiment. In this context, they used their skills to support the development of operational procedures for attack drones. The training in Thun and the following field experiment in Bure further developed the skills of the Swiss Armed Forces in the area of drones und took place within the context of the Taskforce Drones with the participation of the Swiss Armed Forces, the Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse as well as with external partners.
Fifteen recruits from the Tank School 21 and Infantry School 12 were able to take part in a five-week training as FPV drone pilots in Thun in August and September 2025. First-person view means that the pilots see the pictures of the drone in real time through video glasses. The selection was based on technical abilities and soft skills such as stress resistance and team spirit. The goal was to carry out methodically optimised training for recruits without experience in FPV drone flight. These included tracking and intercepting drones, developing tactics, transmitting data in flight as well as sharpening team and communication skills. During the training as well as the subsequent field experiment, unaltered commercial racing drones were used.
The second training of this type showed that the recruits were able to build marked capabilities in dealing with non-stabilised drones in just a few weeks, even without prior knowledge of flying drones. The training was carried out under the responsibility of armasuisse Science and Technology within the context of the Taskforce Drones.
Integration of FPV drone teams in combat formations for deployment as weapons
After the initial formation, the recruits to be trained as FPV drone pilots took part in a four-week field experiment. These drone teams were integrated in combat formations in the Tank School 21 and the Infantry School 12. The focus was on training the interaction between drone pilots and troops in reconnaissance and attack operations, as well as adapting the development of new operational procedures for attack drones. The use of attack drones has directly changed the behaviour of the troops and opened up new opportunities and possibilities for the platoon leaders and commanders in fulfilling their tasks.
This field experiment was performed by the Drone and Robotics Defence Competence Centre. Further trials will follow in 2026.
The Taskforce Drones
The use of drones in crisis situations and conflicts has become standard. As a reaction to growing threats, the DDPS founded the Taskforce Drones in June 2024. The clients are the Chief of the Armed Forces Thomas Süssli and the National Armaments Director Urs Loher. Thomas Rothacher, Deputy National Armaments Director and Head of the competence sector armasuisse Science and Technology is responsible for management. The Taskforce Drones deals with small and minidrones and its goal is to accelerate skill building in the Swiss Armed Forces in the area of drones, to produce drone solutions as far as possible in Switzerland and to thus minimise dependencies on other countries.