US Army Tests Fancy Drone Toys While Getting Shot at in Fake Desert City
KEY POINTS
- •Nearly 10,000 soldiers trained in a simulated urban assault at Fort Irwin’s Mojave Desert this summer during Project Convergence Capstone.
- •Troops used Bradleys, drones including the Black Widow, and experimental software like Next Generation Command and Control to test real battlefield technology.
- •Despite tech's help, soldiers faced electronic jamming, harsh desert heat, and actual simulated combat where at least one Bradley Fighting Vehicle was 'destroyed.'
At Fort Irwin in California’s Mojave Desert, nearly 10,000 soldiers gathered this summer for the Army’s Project Convergence Capstone to pretend fight a smart enemy named 'Blackhorse' — who took the form of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Using Bradleys, drones like the Black Widow quadcopter, and a ground robot named NOMAD (that liked sightseeing outside the city), troops tested cutting-edge tech, including AI-enabled NGC2 software on chest-mounted smartphones. Despite breakthroughs, overheating soldiers, jammed signals, and one Bradley visibly 'dying' under fire reminded everyone the 21st century still loves a good old-fashioned shootout around a dusty fake palace and a haunted jail from hell.
Share the Story
(1 of 3)Turns out, sticking a smartphone on your chest and sending drones to spy on fake bad guys doesn’t fix the classic problem of getting shot at in the desert.
Nothing like a $100 million drone and robot parade to discover soldiers still need Kevlar and a prayer in urban combat.
Project Convergence: where your high-tech gadgets work great until enemy fire and Mojave heat politely remind you who's boss.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 9/5/2026 | Author: Chris Panella
More Articles in US News
Republicans Shocked Economy Isn’t a Magical Buffet Despite GOP Chef Trump
Chicken Nuggets Undergo More Reboots Than Mid-2000s Video Games
Trump Demands Midterm Convention Star Himself; Republicans Wish They Could Disappear Like NFL Game Ratings
Trump Threatens To End Trade If Fed Won’t Lower Interest Rates, Because Logic
US Soldiers Hide Bradleys From Drones Like Teens Avoiding Phone Calls
Labor Day Travel Hits Record High Prices, Wallets File Complaint
Brooklyn Climber Discovers Upstate Catskills Have Restaurants, Shocks NYC
Trump Claims Strait of Hormuz Oil Flow, Analysts Scribble in Confusion
