Artist's rendering of a future war, with drones firing lasers at soldiers - Gremlin/ Remember when the U.S. Army let Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) use its anti-drone laser weapon to shoot down a Mexican cartel drone,

The Gauntlet kicks off at Fort Benning, Georgia, this week. The trials run through early March, putting small, inexpensive drones and their makers through the wringer as the U.S. attempts to learn the lessons of war in Ukraine.

Both Ukraine and Russia are operating fiber-optic drones, which can't be jammed with traditional electronic warfare tactics.

It sounds like a contradiction at first. A weapon strong enough to slice through metal and knock drones out of the sky, yet completely silent when it does so.

The Russians earlier this month during the World Defense Show 2026 international defense exhibition in Saudi Arabia unveiled 30mm projectiles with programmable explosion for hunting drones. At the same time, a video of a Ka-52M attack helicopter allegedly successfully shooting down Ukrainian drones with such shells has already surfaced.