Bi looked at the special operators Manage a Taiwan crisis assault operation

Strong Bragg, North Carolina – The low buzzing of a quadcopter drone cuts in the air like a buzzing bees. It is weak and difficult to follow. The sound becomes stronger as the swarm is built.

The drones are fast and small and difficult to see, but the noise of the growing swarm becomes overwhelming. They rush on sterile earth roads and empty buildings.

Then the bombs start to fall and the explosions are deafening. People are struck, collapse on the ground, screaming, covered with blood while the dust fills the air. It’s chaos.

This shocking opening act was only an element of a training exercise in Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where the command of special operations of the US military organized its annual, or CAPEX, last week.

Open to the public, CAPEX offers closely on which the special forces of the US army operations work and how they would react to a potential real world conflict. This year’s scenario was a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, an increasing concern while China modernizes its forces.

The day began with a Briefing by Lieutenant-General Jonathan Braga, the USASOC-commanding general, on the threat of a Chinese incursion in Taiwan. Braga underlined in 2027, the date on which the leader of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping said that the Chinese army should be ready to invade Taiwan.

Although there is no guarantee that he will make this step, Braga called him “by exponential means, the greatest threat we have”. Thinking about this challenge is to play a role in training the training of ARSOF operators and the capacities they develop.

American special operators are in a transition period. After decades of fighting terrorism and counter-insurgency operations, they are now changing, as well as the rest of the soldiers, towards high power competition and potential conflicts with a leading opponent.

The leaders of the special forces said that the change requires new skills of the operators who will affect the way in which they approach the support of the conventional forces and the irregular war. In some respects, this will mean a return to the roles and tactics of the era of the Cold War.

Throughout the CAPEX, ARSOF staff have talked about what they prioritize at length. Drones and other unrelated systems are at the forefront.

The initial and simulated drone attack of Chinese forces during the exercise left a few people “injured”, which prompted Arsof to demonstrate their crisis and their medical responses. He was tense but ordered – the staff took care of superficial injuries, evaluated serious injuries and took immediate measures.

Bring the fight to the enemy

The forest has moved up a gear when Arsof has attacked a raid on an enemy territory aimed at opening a temporary air corridor for the follow -up forces.

From the top of a building, Bi and others watched an assault team broke from the blanket, surprising its enemies with a quick M240B machine gun shot. It was noisy and sudden.

The American team then took control of the area surrounding a Tactical SCUD Tactical Missile of Russian manufacturing.

Enemy-mixed non-mixed air systems have stolen in the area, leading to the use of counter-drone capacities to detect, follow and finally neutralize them. Officials said the Counter-Uas system used sensors and deployed interceptor drones to make a “order control taking” which essentially breaks the connection between drones and their operators.

This system was then used to identify the drone launch point. With a munition of blur and a separate drone, the assault team withdrew the objectives.

With the open air corridor, the forces of the 75th Ranger Regiment and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment were then able to enter the area and target key enemy enemy: a hostile command and control center.

Two Chinook helicopters of the MH-47, variants of special operations of the heavy lifting transport aircraft, climbed the remote trees line.

The arrival of chinooks was fast. As they arrived, they aroused dirt and dust, which makes it difficult to see two assault squads rush on ropes, called fast rope insertions, helicopters on top of the adjacent buildings.

Just as quickly as they arrived, the helicopters flew. They couldn’t linger.

The assault groups cleaned the buildings before aligning for an explosive violation of the enemy command building. The first -person drones were also flying, providing a critical situation awareness. Once the entrance to the center has been raped, the groups have deposited, neutralizing the enemy fighters in the upper quarter.

The combat exercise also included an enemy counterattack. Arsof fought with rifles without hindsight Carl Gustaf which pull 84 mm rockets, M240B machine guns (7.62), M320 grenade launchers, 60 mm mortar systems and javelin. The counterattack was quickly defeated.

And to top it all off, Arsof pulled a high mobility artillery rocket system (Himars) to target enemy aerial defenses and continue to keep the open air corridor, making new infiltration and exfiltration an option.

The CAPEX offered visitors a swirling look at the aspects of a possible fight during a potential Chinese invasion, but it also highlighted other aspects of ARSOF. Its civil affairs component, as well as language courses and physical and mental health requirements, have also been demonstrated.

Colonel Luke Vantwerp, director of the Directorate of Integration of the Development of Special Operations of the US Army, called Arsof “a good deal” for the American army.

“With a small investment, a small number of people with generational relations,” he said, operators can dissuade conflicts. If he bursts, however, they want to make sure they can toll the opponent everywhere and yet the most effective.

Usasoc is made up of around 33,000 people. This represents less than 6% of the army, but it is more than 51% of the US army special operations forces. They are deployed in more than 70 countries, learn 17 different languages ​​and focus on the deterrent of conflicts, the creation of relationships with partners and allies and the maintenance on the pulse of what is happening.