The US Army is beginning a large-scale modernization of its main training bases to recreate with maximum accuracy the specific and extremely difficult conditions of the battlefield in Ukraine.
The project envisages the creation of two specialized training grounds, where American servicemen and their allies will prepare for new-generation conflicts against technologically advanced adversaries.
The New Reality: Drones and Trenches
The training centers will integrate key tactical lessons learned from the front lines in Eastern Europe. Unlike the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were focused on fighting guerrilla groups, the new ranges will simulate large-scale conventional warfare.
The emphasis will be on:
- Trench warfare and fortified lines: Construction of complex labyrinths of defensive structures in which soldiers will practice assault and defensive operations.
- Constant Air Pressure: The widespread use of reconnaissance and FPV (kamikaze) drones to keep trainees under constant surveillance and threat of airstrikes.
- Electronic Warfare (EW): Complete jamming of GPS signals and communications, which will force units to operate in conditions of complete information blackout.
Where will they be deployed?
The modernization is being carried out at key strategic US bases, with adaptation planned both at facilities on American soil - for example, the National Training Center (NTC) in Fort Irvine, California - and at key allied training grounds in Europe, where US forces and their NATO partners conduct regular interoperability exercises. On the territory of the bases, simulated enemy forces already speak the language of the potential adversary and use fake campaigns on social networks to test the psychological resilience of soldiers.
“The war in Ukraine has changed everything we knew about modern conflict. The transparency of the battlefield provided by drones makes the concentration of equipment extremely dangerous“, comment military analysts monitoring the transformation processes in NATO structures.
The new training grounds are expected to enter full operation in the shortest possible time, becoming the backbone of the Alliance's new defense doctrine.