The U.S. Army Tested A Tethered Drone That Is Invisible To Electronic Warfare Systems
- 4.09.2026, 9:28
It can stay in the air for dozens of hours.
The U.S. Army has completed testing of tethered unmanned aerial systems (Te-UAS) mounted on Infantry Squad Vehicle-Utility (ISV-U) light infantry vehicles.
This was reported by Charter97.org citing an official statement from the U.S. Army.
What exactly was being tested
At the McKenna Field Landing Site, two commercial tethered drones were mounted on a five-seat ISV-U—a modification of the base nine-seat infantry vehicle (M1301) with a cargo platform. Operators practiced taking off and landing the drone, static mode, follow-mode (tracking a moving vehicle), and emergency scenarios, recording the launch and return times of the aircraft.
Military personnel used a constant power supply and a physical data cable to bypass radio jamming, extend the line-of-sight radio communication range, and detect targets at greater distances without the limitations inherent in battery-powered drones.
The Maneuver Battle Lab (MBL) tests were conducted from July 27 to August 7 in collaboration with the Strategic Spectrum Warfare and Maneuver Future Capability teams. The goal was to verify whether a lightweight vehicle could carry a stable reconnaissance and communications node at altitude across rough terrain under enemy electronic warfare conditions.
Why Do We Need a “Mast on Wheels”?
Tethered drones differ significantly from conventional quadcopters in terms of operational duration. While batteries last 20–60 minutes in the air, a power cable allows individual systems to operate for dozens of hours straight. For example, the Orion 2 manufactured by Elistair is designed to operate for up to 50 hours.
By comparison, a drone with a 30-minute flight time would require at least 48 sorties per day to provide round-the-clock coverage.
Mark Pagliaro, Head of Strategic Spectrum Warfare, compared the effect to placing a sensor on a very tall tower—with the difference that such a “tower” can change altitude and move along with the unit.
Why a Physical Cable Protects Against Jamming
Tethering also alters the drone’s vulnerability to electronic warfare. Conventional small unmanned systems typically rely on radio channels to transmit commands, telemetry, and payload data, as well as often on GPS/GNSS navigation—this creates channels that can be jammed, spoofed, intercepted, or detected.
A physical cable can transmit control commands and large volumes of sensor data directly between the drone and the ground station, reducing reliance on radio frequencies and allowing video and other sensor traffic to remain on the cable.
Both Russian and Ukrainian forces use a similar approach. They are increasingly using attack drones with fiber-optic control to evade electronic warfare—with the difference that such drones travel kilometers to their target, whereas the Te-UAS does not go beyond the length of the cable.
What This Means for Communications and Reconnaissance
A tethered drone can lift radio or network equipment dozens of meters above a vehicle and move along with it, unlike ground-based systems such as the OE-254, which require time to deploy and a fixed position.
Depending on the payload, such a system can support software-defined radios, Wi-Fi, LTE, MANET, and other protocols, transmitting voice, data, coordinates, and images between dispersed units.
How many people are needed to operate
Captain Sarah Ranyon reported that she was able to launch the tested aircraft in a matter of minutes and bring it back with a single command; According to Pagliaro, once airborne, the drone required virtually no operator intervention.
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