152 S11 Ep 10 – Drone vs Counter-Drone Fight of the Modern Battlefield w/JRTC OPFOR & COL(R) Bill Edwards

The Joint Readiness Training Center is pleased to present the one-hundredth-and-fifty-second episode to air on ‘The Crucible - The JRTC Experience.’ Hosted by LTC Trevor Jones, the Battalion Commander of 1-509th IN (OPFOR), known as Geronimo, on behalf of the Commander of Operations Group. Today’s guests are subject matter experts on drone warfare: LTC Michael Roscoe, COL(Retired) Bill Edwards, CW2 Brendan Henske, LTC(R) Mark Leslie, and CPT Christopher Chelson. LTC Roscoe is the Tactical Analysis, Communications, and Simulations Support (TACSS) Chief. COL(R) Edwards is the Director of Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System Operations for ENSCO. And CW2 Henske is the Senior UAS Operations Planner for Plans / Exercise Maneuver Control (Task Force Zulu). LTC(R) Leslie is the Director of the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization, & Security (DPTMS) for Fort Polk.  CPT Chelson is the Innovation Officer within the Multi-Domain Effects Cell for Geronimo.   This episode explores the rapid evolution of drone warfare, framing it as a true revolution in military affairs and focusing on the dynamic competition between UAS employment and counter-UAS (C-UAS) responses. The discussion highlights how modern conflicts—especially Ukraine—have accelerated innovation, compressing the kill chain and making drones persistent across the battlefield for reconnaissance, targeting, and strike. Units are now facing a layered threat that includes ISR drones, one-way attack systems, and emerging capabilities like fiber-optic controlled UAS that are resistant to traditional electronic warfare. As a result, the battlefield has become increasingly transparent, forcing formations to adapt their tactics, survivability measures, and signature management just to operate.   The conversation then shifts to the C-UAS fight, emphasizing that defeating drones is not a single solution problem but a layered, multi-echelon effort that starts with detection and ends with mitigation or destruction. Key insights include the importance of early warning systems, integration of passive measures like camouflage and dispersion, and the use of both kinetic and non-kinetic defeat mechanisms. The episode underscores that C-UAS is an “everyone problem,” requiring integration across warfighting functions and deliberate ownership at echelon. Ultimately, success in this fight depends less on chasing technological silver bullets and more on combining disciplined fundamentals, clear procedures, and integrated systems to outpace the evolving threat in both offense and defense.   Part of S11 “Conversations with the Enemy” series.   For additional information and insights from this episode, please check-out our Instagram page @the_jrtc_crucible_podcast.   Be sure to follow us on social media to keep up with the latest warfighting TTPs learned through the crucible that is the Joint Readiness Training Center.   Follow us by going to: https://linktr.ee/jrtc and then selecting your preferred podcast format.   Again, we’d like to thank our guests for participating. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and review us wherever you listen or watch your podcasts — and be sure to stay tuned for more in the near future.   “The Crucible – The JRTC Experience” is a product of the Joint Readiness Training Center.