The U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa announced a partnership with the Army's Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate to test emerging counter-drone systems and deliver them to soldiers within 180 days. The command's first accelerated capability event is scheduled for spring 2027 in Tan-Tan, Morocco.
The event will focus on counter-unmanned aircraft systems and force protection, targeting capability gaps in defending early-entry command posts and operating locations against small unmanned aircraft (UAS).
Africa offers advantages that U.S. training ranges cannot match, according to the Army: open spectrum, uncongested airspace, and diverse terrain that allow soldiers to test solutions in actual operating conditions and validate approaches for service-wide adoption.
The Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate embeds personnel within Army service component commands to translate operational priorities into executable requirements, giving field commanders access to acquisition authority and funding for research, development and testing.