On a rainy, moonless night in the Bavarian countryside, a group of soldiers quietly emerged from a ramshackle building designed to resemble a church. Moving stealthily under the shadow of the alpine terrain, they made their way toward a nearby tree line. These soldiers, members of the Polish special forces, were embarking on a highly specialized military exercise designed to simulate slipping behind enemy lines, traversing miles of hostile territory, and launching a targeted drone strike on a critical location.
The training scenario, which began on Friday, was originally developed by U.S. Army Green Berets for American special forces. It is heavily informed by the real-world tactical challenges and battlefield conditions that Ukrainian troops have encountered in their conflict with Russia. This marks the first time a NATO ally has participated in the training, arriving at a moment of heightened tension between Russian President Vladimir Putin and NATO member states.
“We’re using lessons learned from Ukraine,” a U.S. Army Green Beret officer involved with the training facility explained. “All of those effects that we’re seeing either Russia or Ukraine having to overcome — we’re doing our best to replicate.”
Journalists were granted rare access to the expansive training grounds and the personnel executing the drill. Prior to this iteration, the complex exercise had only been conducted twice, both times earlier this year by different Green Beret teams.
The drills are taking place against a backdrop of intense diplomatic and intelligence maneuvering. This week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to deliver a direct warning to Russia against launching attacks on NATO nations, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. While Russia maintains an appetite for conducting cyberattacks and sabotage against NATO members, Putin remains keen to avoid a direct military confrontation, according to three Western officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.
At the Joint Multinational Readiness Center Hohenfels, located about an hour's drive southeast of Nuremberg, military planners intend to make this exercise a regular occurrence. A senior enlisted soldier familiar with the training scenario indicated that the plan is to run the drill several times a year. The officer noted that he expects most, if not all, of NATO's 32 member nations to eventually express interest in sending their troops to participate. Both U.S. personnel spoke on the condition of anonymity, in line with military policies protecting the identities of special forces members.
The multi-day exercise unfolds across a massive 1,100-square-mile (3,000-square-kilometer) area in Bavaria. In this scenario, the Polish special forces must sneak past a U.S. Army airborne infantry unit acting as the enemy force. The U.S. paratroopers are tasked with parachuting into the restricted training zone at the Hohenfels base and establishing a defensive front line. If the Polish troops successfully bypass this line, they must navigate approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) northward through the German countryside to reach another training site in Grafenwoehr, where they are tasked with destroying a simulated target.
The journey is complicated by real-world obstacles, including German farms, small villages, private and government surveillance cameras, and a heavily populated city, all of which threaten to expose the operating team. To successfully complete the mission, the troops must blend in seamlessly. The senior enlisted soldier noted that in previous exercises, Green Berets wore civilian clothes to avoid detection by local residents. German civilians in the area are generally unaware of the ongoing maneuvers, serving as a realistic test of the troops' stealth. If residents notice suspicious individuals and contact local police, those reports are forwarded to the military to help track the team. “This is supposed to be Russia and you’re going to stand out in Russia,” the enlisted soldier remarked.
Furthermore, the U.S. Army actively hunts the Polish forces using surveillance drones. If the Polish team is spotted, the consequences are severe. “Now you have the entire Russian arsenal coming at you,” the enlisted soldier warned. In response to a detection, the U.S. military can deploy a military police unit equipped with search dogs or flood the airspace with additional drones. In prior versions of the exercise, the U.S. forces had access to more than 100 drones. Under the strict rules of the training, troops can be simulated as "captured or killed."
While the exercise emphasizes drone integration and alliance cooperation, the broader military strategy regarding drone warfare has seen mixed signals. President Donald Trump has created uncertainty among NATO allies by vacillating on U.S. troop levels in Europe, prompting an ongoing force review. Additionally, the U.S. Army's top officer recently disbanded a specialized unit dedicated to drone warfare.
Despite these internal shifts, global interest in leveraging Ukraine's expertise in modern drone warfare remains high. In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that his nation was helping five Middle Eastern and Gulf countries counter Iranian-designed drone attacks, with the U.S. and several European nations also seeking Ukrainian defense insights. This comes amid a rise in unexplained drone incursions across Europe, including a recent incident where two drones were spotted over a German military base, and another where a drone carrying explosives was discovered at a major German cargo airport.
