More than 500 Chinese drones confiscated by Florida officials will be used for military target practice for evaluation and training.
Instead of torching the machines, the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) will shoot them down with shotguns, according to Bloomberg News.
The quadcopter drones will be used over the course of three days next month to train elite U.S. troops on how to take out enemy drones.
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The Military Drone Crucible training event is scheduled for Dec. 4-6 at Camp Blanding, according to the U.S. National Drone Association’s (USNDA) website.
The event will feature training sessions focused on clearing a room with opposing troops present and striking an enemy convoy.
“It will be the largest counter-drone destruction event ever held in the United States,” USNDA President Nate Ecelbarger told Bloomberg News.
To date, the largest drone destruction event was held in September, when an electromagnetic weapon was used to take down 49 drones at Camp Atterbury in Indiana, according to Axios.
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Navy SEALs, Marines and Army Rangers participated in the Indiana event for training purposes.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration cut red tape to allow mass drone production to compete with Russian and Chinese drone programs.
