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Drone Training Attrition Rates
Comparison of student attrition rates before and after implementing hands-on training adjustments.
Primary Sources
Drone Pilot Operations and Safety Program - Dallas College
Institutional Credential Leading to Licensure or Certification (ICLC) Degree Plan Code: CESA.DRONE.PILOT
U.S. Marines Test LAV-M Mortar and FPV Drone Integration to Accelerate ...
U.S. Marines with the 22nd MEU integrated LAV-M 81mm mortars with ISR and FPV drones during live-fire drills in Puerto Rico, testing faster coordination between sensors and fires. At Camp Santiago in March 2026, Marines employed Stalker ISR drones alongside Neros Archer FPV systems to support LAV-mounted M252A2 mortars during attack-drone and indirect fire exercises. Conducted as part of Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR, the training explored how combining reconnaissance, loitering munitions, and armored fire support can improve responsiveness in expeditionary operations. Read also: U.S. Marines Award Contract to Acquire Scorpion 81mm Mortar on MRZR Alpha 6x6.U.S. Marines with the 22nd MEU tested LAV-mounted 81mm mortar fire integrated with Stalker reconnaissance drones and Archer FPV systems at Camp Santiago, Puerto Rico, demonstrating a faster sensor-to-shooter kill chain for distributed expeditionary operations (Picture source: U.S. DoW).The activity centered on Light Armored Reconnaissance Company and Battalion Landing Team 3/6, with attack-drone training documented on March 29 and LAV-mounted M252A2 81mm mortar live-fire on March 30, while 22nd MEU aviation elements under Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR were also active in Puerto Rico during the same period. Operationally, that matters because it shows a Marine Air-Ground Task Force rehearsing how scouts, mortars, drones, and aviation can work together inside a real SOUTHCOM deployment rather than in a laboratory setting. The technical center of gravity remains the LAV-M, a niche but highly useful variant inside the Marine Corps’ light armored reconnaissance construct. Marine doctrine shows that an LAR company’s weapons platoon includes a two-vehicle LAV mortar platoon, and it also stresses that the LAV family is not an infantry fighting vehicle but a reconnaissance asset built to fight for information with mobility and firepower rather than heavy protection. The LAV-M carries a single M252 81mm mortar and a 7.62mm machine gun, with the mortar employable either from the vehicle or dismounted, reaching from about 83 meters out to roughly 5.68 kilometers.That armament set is tactically more important than its caliber alone suggests. The system used in Puerto Rico was a vehicle-mounted M252A2, and the current 81mm M252 family has a maximum range of about 5,844 meters, making it ideal for high-angle fire, rapid suppression, smoke, and illumination without the footprint of a larger artillery battery. For reconnaissance f...
How Leonardo DRS is speeding up counter-drone warfare
Leonardo DRS explains how faster integration is key to countering evolving drone threats.
U.S. Marine Corps launches kamikaze drone program for frontline units ...
A U.S. Marine Corps Hero-400 loitering munition drone is staged before flight on San Clemente Island, California, May 25, 2022. The Hero-400 is a loitering munition that the United States Marine Corps and other Department of Defense entities are beginning to incorporate into specific mission sets. This initial training flight develops the unmanned aerial systems pilots' confidence and ...
