The Army is introducing a new unit to train troops on drone and electronic warfare in Germany, even as the Pentagon prepares to pull thousands of troops from the region.
The new company is designed to act as an opposing force, or OPFOR, against troops training at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, testing the capabilities of U.S. and allied troops by using a combination of infantry tactics with new technology modeled on modern conflict.
It is unclear if the unit will remain — or have enough troops to train — after the Defense Department’s drawdown takes effect.
The Pentagon said it planned to remove 5,000 troops from Germany over the next 12 months as a rift between U.S. President Donald Trump and Europe over the Iran war continues to fester.
Eerie Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, was stood up in December 2025 and focuses on playing the enemy force against training formations with short- to long-range reconnaissance.
The company often uses drones that simulate those used in the war in Ukraine, where the technology has become a constant fixture shaping how units fight.
“The rate at which modern warfare is moving, and due to current conflicts, this company was established to help bridge that gap and be the eyes and ears of the battalion,” Capt. Luther Salmon, the new unit’s commander, said in a release.
Hohenfels’s training center frequently hosts large multinational exercises designed to test units against complicated, high-threat situations that can mirror war.
The establishment of Eerie company — and the removal of troops from Europe — comes amid growing concern that the U.S. is lagging behind in adapting its military to this new form of warfare that involves cheap drones and electronic warfare.
Lessons from Ukraine have shown that those systems change combat by making even basic resupplies much more dangerous. Kyiv, meanwhile, is now exporting hard-fought lessons in drone warfare to Western militaries — like the U.S. — that have studied the concepts but are new to facing them in combat.
As drones have become integral to war, the Army has begun pushing the skillset across formations. Anyone in the service can learn about or become a drone pilot, regardless of specialty or job.
One of the main drones used by Salmon’s company is the Neros Archer FPV, or first person view, which the Army said can be configured in many ways and helps replicate conflict situations like those observed in Ukraine.
Spc. Ryan Hatcher, an infantryman who has become an expert on the drone, said the Archer Neros has been helpful in training.
“It’s pretty good for an FPV,” he said. “Other FPVs we’ve flown here in Hohenfels, Germany — we’ve only been able to max out at eight to 10 minutes of battery life.”
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
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