Photo By Maj. Jonathon Bless | Sgt. Andrew Brush, reconnaissance squad leader for the Multifunctional Reconnaissance...... read more read more
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BOZEMAN, Mont. – The brisk mountain breeze sent a slight chill down Sgt. Tyler Roach’s neck as he knelt to clear a space in the pine covered grass for his ABE 1.01 drone. The ABE – or, Attritable Battlefield Enabler – is a small, first-person view (FPV) quadcopter drone built and designed entirely in-house by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). The drone is purpose-built as a cheap, scalable system designed to be employed en masse as a lethal munition.
“I can’t mess this one up,” said Sgt. Roach, as he pulled his FPV goggles down over his eyes. “Everyone will be able to see it!”
Sgt. Roach is a scout for the Multifunctional Reconnaissance Company (MFRC) in the 3rd Mobile Brigade “Rakkasans,” of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) – but he is not just a scout. He is also one of the best FPV drone operators in his unit. Today, June 8, 2026, he would be proving his skill – and his equipment – in an exercise known as the “BattleLab.”
“BattleLab is a free-play tactical arena designed to be a proving ground for military industry’s emerging tech,” said Garrett Smith, CEO of Reveal Technology and BattleLab host. “Here at Reveal, we believe in producing technology that works for our warriors, and the best way to do that is to test it critically under realistic conditions before fielding it to our military forces.”
“Execute drone launch,” directed Phil Divinski. Divinski was playing the role of the detachment leader for the BattleLab exercise. Outside the BattleLab tactical game, Divinski is the CEO of JEDDOC security consulting and a U.S. Army veteran with an illustrious career in the special operations field. He was also the mastermind behind the Battle Lab project.
“New tech is not a solution to every tactical problem,” said Divinski. “BattleLab is intended to force the intersection of tactics and technology – to prove what works, and what doesn’t. Technology is a tool for the tactical practitioner, but tactics should drive advancements in technology – not the other way around. When the United States invests blood and treasure into a cause, it must produce results.”
This shared belief between Smith and Divinski produced the BattleLab project. The duo partnered with VET Tv to document the BattleLab exercises into a web series, to share their lessons-learned with a broader military and defense industrial audience. Each episode of BattleLab invites entrepreneurs from across defense industry to test the viability of their products in the tactical arena. This specific exercise, BattleLab 26.2, included MFRC Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) as the first-ever conventional military forces to be featured on the series.
“Reconnaissance has evolved into something much more complex than just spying on an enemy force in the wood line,” said Sgt. Andrew Brush, the MFRC reconnaissance squad leader. “Today we have more equipment than ever before. Now we have to think about reconnaissance in terms of implementing and defending against drones, signals emitted from digital devices, and much more.”
“BattleLab 26.2 has really allowed my MFRC Soldiers to put their new equipment – and potential future equipment – to the test,” said Capt. Bryce Mathis, MFRC Company Commander. “I would highly encourage other units to take advantage of the opportunity BattleLab provides to partner with defense industry and provide real-time feedback on emerging technology.”
Sgt. Roach’s ABE drone buzzed as its four propellers lifted it above the southwest Montana pine trees. An all-terrain vehicle with a large net attached to its back bounced up the ridgeline, representing an enemy truck. Sgt. Roach expertly piloted the drone into the net on the vehicle, adjudicating a “kill” for his team, and successfully hitting his first-ever moving drone target. Sgt. Roach and the Soldiers from the “Rakkasan” MFRC had just successfully proven the viability of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)’s ABE 1.01 drone in the BattleLab.
BattleLab is available to watch on VET Tv and YouTube. BattleLab 26.2, featuring the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), is planned to release in September 2026.
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2026 15:05 |
| Story ID: | 567936 |
| Location: | BOZEMAN, MONTANA, US |
| Hometown: | BOZEMAN, MONTANA, US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 101st Airborne Division Soldiers and Equipment participate in BattleLab 26.2, by MAJ Jonathon Bless, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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