US Marines launched a drone from a moving helicopter to scout a ship for a special operations boarding team

Marines tested whether a helicopter could become an airborne drone command center off the coast of Camp Pendleton, California, June 16, 2026. Lance Corporal Carlo SouzaDeluca/US Marine Corps Marines tested launching and controlling FPV drones from helicopters during shipboarding training. The drones can help scout target vessels before troops board, reducing unknowns during risky missions. The experiment echoes drone tactics already emerging on the battlefields of Ukraine. As the military…