MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- The 184th Wing's Point Defense Battle Lab (PDBL) will participate in a series of integrated Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) experimentation events at Smoky Hill Air National Guard Range advancing operational concepts aligned with Department of War priorities to achieve decision advantage and counter rapidly evolving unmanned aerial threats, Sept. 20-25, 2026.
The exercise series is conducted in coordination with the Civil-Military Innovation Institute (CMI2) Rapid Operational Innovation Detachment (ROID) “Driving Innovation in Realistic Training (DIRT) Days” campaign.
Enabled through the Accelerating FORCE initiative, which connects operational units with emerging technologies and non-traditional industry partners to rapidly identify, evaluate and transition innovative capabilities, the effort is conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory and other military components.
The events bring together operational units, experimentation partners and technology developers to evaluate emerging capabilities in realistic environments designed to accelerate fielding and refinement of C-UAS solutions.
Smoky Hill provides a contested and operationally relevant environment to stress test detection, tracking, identification, and defeat capabilities against representative unmanned threats while refining integrated command and control across multi-domain operations.
Battle Lab Integration and Operational Relevance
Lt. Col. Kory Whitmore, PDBL officer in charge and 184th Regional Support Group deputy commander, emphasized the role of experimentation in accelerating operational readiness against evolving unmanned threats.
“Counter-unmanned systems require constant adaptation as adversary threats outpace traditional acquisition timelines," said Whitmore. "The Point Defense Battle Lab exists to close that gap by integrating operators and developers directly into live problem-solving. Smoky Hill is establishing itself as a premier venue for C-UAS operational exercises, providing the realistic environment that allows us to incorporate contested conditions to stress-test these solutions and refine our tactics.”
Whitmore also underscored the strategic importance of establishing Smoky Hill as a premier environment for C-UAS development and integration.
“To maintain our decision advantage against proliferating unmanned threats, we must have ranges capable of hosting joint operational exercises at scale. Smoky Hill is stepping up as a national-level integration hub for C-UAS. Here, we aren't just testing hardware; we are assessing the efficacy of our operators employing these systems in a true operational setting to ensure they function together as a fully integrated, joint defense architecture.”
Aligning to Department Priorities in Counter-UAS and Force Protection
The exercise directly supports Department of War priorities to rapidly field and integrate layered defenses against small unmanned aerial systems and emerging autonomous threats. Activities will focus on improving sensor fusion, electronic warfare integration, and distributed command-and-control architectures that enable faster detection-to-decision timelines in contested environments.
The effort also supports broader Air Force objectives to develop resilient force protection capabilities and integrate experimentation directly into operational training environments, ensuring warfighter feedback informs capability development at speed.
Smoky Hill’s Operational Value
Smoky Hill Air National Guard Range remains a key training and experimentation site supporting complex airspace operations, distributed mission execution, and multi-domain integration. Its infrastructure enables realistic replication of contested environments where unmanned threats, degraded communications, and distributed forces must be managed simultaneously.
About the Exercise Series
The ROID DIRT Days initiative embeds operational units within structured experimentation events designed to rapidly assess emerging technologies and concepts in operationally relevant conditions. The goal is to accelerate transition from prototype to fielded capability while ensuring alignment with warfighter requirements and evolving threat environments.