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FORT BRAGG, North Carolina — The low hum of a quadcopter drone cuts through the air like a buzzing bee. It’s faint and difficult to track. The sound grows louder as the swarm builds.
The drones are fast and small and hard to see, but the noise of the growing swarm is becoming overwhelming. They are rushing over barren dirt roads and empty buildings.
Then the bombs begin to fall, and the explosions are deafening. People are hit, collapsing on the ground, screaming, covered in blood as dust fills the air. It’s chaos.
This shocking opening act was just one element of a training exercise at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where US Army Special Operations Command held its annual Capabilities Exercise, or CAPEX, last week.
Open to the public, CAPEX offers a close look at what US Army Special Operations Forces are working on and how they’d respond to a potential real-world conflict. This year’s scenario was a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a growing concern as China modernizes its forces.
The day began with a briefing from Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, the USASOC commanding general, on the threat of a Chinese incursion on Taiwan. Braga highlighted 2027, the date Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has indicated China’s military needs to be ready to invade Taiwan.
While there’s no guarantee it takes that step, Braga called it “by exponential means, the greatest threat we have.” Thinking about that challenge is playing a role in shaping how ARSOF operators train and the capabilities they develop.
American special operators are in a transition period. After decades of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations, they are now shifting, along with the rest of the military, toward great-power competition and potential conflict with a top adversary.
Special forces leaders have said the change requires new skillsets from operators that will affect how they approach supporting conventional forces and irregular warfare. In some respects, it will mean a return to Cold War-era roles and tactics.
Throughout the CAPEX, ARSOF personnel talked at length about what they’re prioritizing. Drones and other uncrewed systems are at the forefront.
The initial, simulated drone attack from Chinese forces during the exercise left a few people “wounded,” prompting ARSOF to demonstrate their crisis and medical responses. It was tense but orderly — personnel cared for superficial wounds, assessed serious injuries, and took immediate action.
Taking the fight to the enemy
The drill shifted into high gear when ARSOF went on offense with a raid into enemy territory aimed at opening up a temporary air corridor for follow-on forces.
From the top of a building, BI and others watched as an assault team broke from cover, surprising its enemies with rapid M240B machine gun fire. It was loud and sudden.
The American team then took control of the area surrounding a Russian-made SCUD tactical ballistic missile.
Enemy uncrewed aerial systems flew around the area, leading to the use of counter-drone capabilities to detect, track, and ultimately neutralize them. Officials said the counter-UAS system used sensors and deployed interceptor drones to conduct a “command-link takeover” that essentially breaks the connection between drones and their operators.
That system was then used to identify the launch point of the drones. With a loitering munition and a separate drone, the assault team took out the targets.
With the air corridor open, forces from the 75th Ranger Regiment and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment were then able to enter the area and target a key enemy facility: a hostile command and control center.
Two MH-47 Chinook helicopters, special operations variants of the heavy lift transport aircraft, soared in from the distant tree line.
The arrival of the Chinooks was fast. As they came in, they stirred up dirt and dust, making it hard to see two assault squads scurry down ropes, called a fast-rope insertion, from the helicopters onto the tops of adjacent buildings.
Just as quickly as they arrived, the helicopters flew off. They couldn’t linger.
The assault groups cleared the buildings before lining up for an explosive breach of the enemy command building. First-person-view drones were flying around, too, providing critical situational awareness. Once the center’s entrance was breached, the groups filed in, neutralizing enemy combatants in close-quarters combat.
The combat exercise also included an enemy counterattack. ARSOF fought with Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifles that fire 84mm rockets, M240B (7.62) machine guns, M320 grenade launchers, 60MM mortar systems, and Javelin. The counterattack was quickly defeated.
And to top it off, ARSOF fired a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to target enemy air defenses and continue to keep the air corridor open, making further infiltration and exfiltration an option.
The CAPEX offered visitors a whirlwind look at 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, were also demonstrated.
Col. Luke VanAntwerp, director of US Army Special Operations Command’s Capability Development Integration Directorate, called ARSOF “an incredible bargain” for the US military.
“With a small investment, a small number of people with generational relationships,” he said, operators can deter conflict. If it breaks out, though, they want to make sure they can exact a toll on the adversary wherever and however is most effective.
USASOC is made up of around 33,000 people. That’s less than 6% of the Army, but it’s more than 51% of the US military’s special operations forces. They’re deployed to more than 70 countries, learn 17 different languages, and focus on deterring conflict, making relationships with partners and allies, and keeping their finger on the pulse of what’s happening.
