The SUAS Master Trainer Course

Forging the Future of Ground Warfare

By SFC Derrick Guyton

Article published on: March 19, 2026 in the Spring 2026 edition of Infantry

Read Time: < 3 mins

Students in the Small Unmanned Aircraft System Master Trainer Course conduct training on 16 July 2025. (Photo by CPT Stephanie Snyder)

Across the training areas of Fort Benning, GA, the future of warfare is taking shape. The Small Unmanned Aircraft System Master Trainer (SUAS-MT) Course is no longer just about flying drones — it is about transforming how the U.S. Army fights. By merging tactics with cutting-edge technology, the course ensures that systems like the RQ-28A, RQ-28B, and Purpose-Built Attritable Systems (PBAS) become decisive enablers in combat operations.

From Operators to Experts

Launched in the early 2010s as a three-week academic program, the SUAS-MT Course has graduated hundreds of master trainers. These Soldiers are more than operators — they are the Army’s subject matter experts for training, sustainment, and requalification. Selected by brigade commanders and already possessing Basic UAS Qualification (BUQ-1), graduates return to their units ready to build and manage SUAS training programs, advise commanders on tactical employment, and integrate drones into the fight.

The course now incorporates contested-environment simulations inspired by lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East, where inexpensive, agile drones have reshaped battlefields. What began as platform-centric instruction has evolved into a leadership course that produces trainers capable of driving innovation across formations.

Innovation in Action

Integration with elite units such as the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment has accelerated progress, emphasizing tactical operations and counter-UAS resilience. The cadre are pioneering 3D printing for custom payloads and repairs, while advanced simulations allow training without the constraints of airspace or land.

In Fiscal Year 2026, the SUAS-MT cadre launched the first post-One Station Unit Training (OSUT) SUAS Operator Course at Fort Benning. This seven-day program equips new Soldiers to operate short-range reconnaissance (SRR) and Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) systems before they arrive at their first unit. Combined with a new dedicated facility and the rapid conversion of Malone Range 2 into a full-time SUAS training area, throughput and flight hours have surged.

The Road Ahead

The Maneuver Center of Excellence is preparing to expand the SUAS-MT into a four-week program, encompassing both ground and air unmanned systems. Future master trainers will teach autonomous swarm programming, real-time adaptation to electronic jamming, and lethal employment of SUAS. Malone Range 2 is already being adapted into a premier unmanned systems training area, where precision-guided strikes will be certified across multiple lanes simultaneously.

This is not incremental progress — it is force modernization. In an era where peer adversaries field thousands of drones, the SUAS-MT Course ensures the U.S. Army remains ahead by leveraging low-cost, expendable systems to dominate the close fight.

Answering the Nation’s Call

As Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declared in his 10 July 2025 directive, “Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation.” His mandate to deliver thousands of attritable systems to combat units by 2026 and equip every squad has created unprecedented demand for qualified operators and master trainers.

The SUAS-MT cadre are already meeting that demand. New facilities, ranges, lessons, and partnerships are in place or underway. The course is not simply responding to the Secretary Hegseth’s directive — it is leading the way. Every master trainer produced is a force multiplier, ensuring the Army dominates tomorrow’s drone fight.