US trains Polish special forces using lessons from Ukraine's war
US military instructors have begun exercises in Germany for Polish special forces that recreate challenges faced by Ukrainian troops fighting Russia, emphasizing drone tactics and NATO cooperation.
Military exercises for Polish special operations troops began Friday in rural Bavaria, Germany, designed by the US Army to simulate many of the challenges Ukrainian forces have faced in the war against Russia, Associated Press reported.
The drills were originally developed by US Army Green Berets for American special units, but now incorporate lessons drawn from Ukraine's more than four years of resisting Russian attacks. A Green Beret officer attached to the training complex said the goal is to recreate, as closely as possible, the challenges both Russia and Ukraine face on the battlefield.
The mission and terrain
Polish operators must sneak past a US airborne infantry unit playing the enemy, then travel roughly 100 kilometers across the German countryside — from the Hohenfels army base to another training ground near Grafenwoehr, where they are expected to strike a simulated target. Along the route lie German farms, villages and a densely populated town, which both hinder movement and raise the chance of detection. Local civilians are largely unaware of the exercise, making it a real test of the troops' ability to blend into their surroundings.
If spotted, reports of suspicious individuals reach military police, who use them to pinpoint the unit's location. The US Army also searches for the Polish troops using drones — earlier iterations of the exercise involved more than a hundred unmanned aircraft. If detected, participants can be simulated as "captured or killed."
The exercise is planned to take place several times a year, and organizers expect most, if not all, NATO countries to show interest in sending their own troops to participate. It reflects growing interest across NATO in Ukraine's expertise in drone warfare, although opinions within US military circles on cooperation and the value of drones have recently diverged — last week, top Army leadership disbanded a unit specializing in drone combat operations.
The report follows earlier Combined Resolve exercises in Germany, where drone operators from Ukraine's 412th Nemesis Unmanned Systems Brigade demonstrated superior performance against a US mechanized brigade's equipment.
