At SOF Week in Tampa, a logistics official described how US Green Berets are testing Dzyne’s Grasshopper glider drones—designed to fly and deliver supplies with limited electronic emissions during contested operations, including a drop supporting troops in Rom
For US troops operating in environments where every electronic “ping” can become a trail, resupply has always been a risk. This week at the annual SOF Week conference in Tampa. Florida. a logistics official laid out a different path—one that relies on glider drones and the idea that staying quiet in the electromagnetic spectrum can keep teams alive.
The US military is grappling with a stubborn problem: moving. communicating. and resupplying forces without giving away their positions through electronic emissions. As Special Operations Command Europe’s logistics official described it at SOF Week. glider drones are emerging as a potential option for exactly that kind of mission.
During Trojan Footprint. a major international special operations exercise held this month in Romania and Macedonia. Romanian aircraft carrying a handful of US troops released two Grasshopper glider drones loaded with construction materials. food. and medical supplies in support of American Green Berets on the ground.
The logic is straightforward, and it is built around situations where conventional delivery breaks down. When roads. rivers. or railways aren’t an option for delivering supplies to US troops in combat zones—or when troops are deployed in areas where aircraft can’t land—a glider is one possible alternative. The Grasshopper is designed to land within 10 meters of its intended target area. deploy a parachute just before making a controlled nose-first impact. and do so with limited electronic activity.
Dzyne. the company behind the Grasshopper. says the system is purpose-built for contested and denied environments and describes the glider and its long-range variants as able to carry up to 500 pounds of cargo. The official also said the drone can remain below detection thresholds in the electromagnetic spectrum—an expanding concern for the US military.
Grasshopper releases are designed with distance in mind. The higher the drones are released. the farther they can fly. with the official comparing the platform to a paper airplane. The drones can stay airborne for hours and be released from as high as 25. 000 feet. each pre-programmed to reach a different team on the ground.
That pitch sits inside a wider shift already underway inside the US military: modern troops can be exposed not just by what they do. but by what they emit. Electronic equipment such as radios and communications systems emits signals that can be detected within the spectrum. and those emissions can reveal a military unit’s location to enemy sensors and expose troops to harm.
The effort also reflects growing pressure to reduce more than radio chatter. The official described troops working to shrink command posts, quiet radio chatter, and eliminate cell phone use in training and in the field. Troops are also looking for ways to reduce thermal emissions.
Digital stealth, in this framing, isn’t a luxury—it is presented as a requirement. The logistics official said platforms like these may address concerns in contested air. and he linked the current approach to earlier eras: during World War II. glider aircraft were used to silently insert troops behind enemy lines and to drop cargo into an area of operations.
Now, the official described digital stealth as “an absolute requirement for survival” on modern battlefields where troops and equipment must be able to function in a “hyper-contested digital environment without any kind of signature.”
It’s not all settled, though. It is unclear how well platforms such as these glider drones will perform at scale or in challenging weather conditions.
Underneath the technical details is a broader strategic unease about how dependent US forces have become on digital systems after a 20-year Global War on Terror. The logistics official said that shift for the Pentagon includes renewed reliance on traditional tools like paper maps and old-school compasses. “Because of that electromagnetic environment, there is no safe rear area,” the official said.
The Grasshopper testing described at SOF Week is part of that larger attempt to move without broadcasting—and to keep resupply moving even when the safest route is not the one that uses electronics.
SOF Week Green Berets Special Operations Command Europe Trojan Footprint Romania Macedonia Dzyne Grasshopper glider drones electronic emissions electromagnetic spectrum contested environments aerial resupply