Protecting Army Power Projection Integrating sUAS into Police Operations
Protecting Army Power Projection
Integrating sUAS into Police Operations
“Warfighting is a team effort. Soldiers, American industry, our communities, our families – every part of the team must be ready. Our installations support this effort and provide us with power projection platforms across the country and abroad.”
Spc. William Ritter, a military policeman with 287th Military Police Company, 97th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Riley, Kansas, sets up the software used to monitor and control the RQ-11 Raven, a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS), during Allied Spirit VIII at Hohenfels, Germany, Jan. 26, 2018. Roughly 4,100 troops from 10 nations are participating in Allied Spirit VIII, a multinational training exercise designed to test participants’ readiness and capabilities.
(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dustin D. Biven / 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dustin D. Biven / 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
The U.S. Army’s operation doctrine describes how Army forces enable joint operations through combat power projection and by setting theaters for the joint force. Senior leaders, installation commanders, Soldiers, and Families recognize that the Army’s global response capability begins in the strategic-support area, which also contains critical operational functions essential to multidomain operations. Military police law enforcement activity (LEA) units support installation commanders by protecting capabilities that adversaries may target to delay, disrupt, or degrade the flow of forces into theaters.
The Army Transformation Initiative integrates Army operational tenets and imperatives into the police operations executed by military police LEA units. Incorporating small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) enhances military police LEA units’ ability to understand threat disposition within the strategic-support area and to establish conditions for making contact on favorable terms. To meet the demands of this initiative, military police LEA units require formation-based transformation that aligns their structure and capabilities with emerging operational requirements.
Equipping Military Police Law-Enforcement Activities with sUAS
“In competition, the Army provides the Department of Defense with foundational capabilities and the capacity to shape the environment.”
U.S. Army military police officers from the 529th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, conduct a mid‑shift traffic patrol stop at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy, May 21, 2026, during routine security operations supporting the installation’s law‑enforcement mission.
(U.S. Army photo by Josiana Greenaway)
(U.S. Army photo by Josiana Greenaway)
U.S. Army power projection begins in the strategic-support area (home-station installations), making them primary targets for adversarial disruption. Integrating commercial, budget-friendly small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) into military police law enforcement activity (LEA) units—specifically within physical security and patrol branches—provides installation commanders with an immediate, low-cost force multiplier to observe, detect, and neutralize threats with greater speed and precision while maintaining strict constitutional and regulatory compliance.
Transformation can occur relatively quickly. Military police LEA transformation is achievable in under two years by employing the Army’s Program Executive Office for Aviation (PEO Aviation)-recommended, commercially available sUAS, which provide Defense Innovation Unit-compliant and highly affordable options. PEO Aviation’s $2,000 vendor price cap ensures that units can produce low-cost, low-maintenance systems, while in-house repairs further reduce sustainment costs by eliminating vendor dependency.
Current military police doctrine already supports integrating sUAS into military police formations, enabling military police LEA units to enhance situational understanding and protect the strategic-support area. Affordable sUAS solutions and shared operational experience across military police units strengthen their ability to counter threats from foreign intelligence services, criminal networks, and violent extremists.
Equipping military police LEA units with sUAS in the next Army programming cycle will improve protection of the strategic-support area by reducing opportunities for adversaries to achieve surprise or gain unexpected advantages.
Organizing to Shape the Environment
“Equipment is not, by itself, capability.”
Soldiers assigned to the 302nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment (MPAD) and the 371st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB) participate in small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) training at March Air Reserve Base, Moreno Valley, California, April 11, 2026. The training focused on identifying, reporting, and responding to aerial threats to enhance Soldier survivability and mission readiness.
(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Nathan Starr)
(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Nathan Starr)
Preparing military police Soldiers and leaders for police operations across multiple domains builds the confidence needed to rapidly adapt to emerging technologies such as new sUAS. Military police companies already have experience employing the RQ-11 Raven in both training environments and foreign engagements, providing a foundation for broader sUAS integration. Military police LEA units can incorporate sUAS capabilities in a practical and cost-effective manner within both the force-protection section and the patrol branch.
Within the force-protection section, physical security teams can significantly improve surveillance of restrictive terrain and strengthen risk and threat analysis by deploying sUAS. These teams follow established air-tasking procedures at their installations to obtain flight-operations approval. In the patrol branch, sUAS serve as rapid-deployment assets during emergencies, enabling patrols to coordinate and converge law-enforcement responses to threats against the safety and security of the strategic-support area.
To support this capability, the patrol branch must develop clear approval authorities and procedures for emergency flight operations at Army installations. Consistent supervisor availability and accessibility are essential to ensure readiness for both planned and emergency sUAS employment.
Training for Disciplined Initiative in sUAS Operations
“Perhaps most importantly, our adversaries grow stronger every day and seek any seam to erode our advantages but also provide us with a renewed sense of purpose.”
Soldiers assigned to the 302nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment (MPAD) and the 371st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB) participate in small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) training at March Air Reserve Base, Moreno Valley, California, April 11, 2026. The training focused on identifying, reporting, and responding to aerial threats to enhance Soldier survivability and mission readiness.
(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Nathan Starr)
(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Nathan Starr)
Military police LEA units carry the unique responsibility of securing the strategic-support area while safeguarding the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of the Army community. Military police Soldiers are trained to exercise disciplined initiative within the legal and police constraints of their operating environment. Building the Army community’s confidence in the responsible use of sUAS is essential to maintaining public safety and trust.
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center offers a 10-day Law Enforcement sUAS Pilot Training Program, which provides officers with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) credentials required to operate sUAS in support of their agency’s mission. Training that includes flight operations over people and moving vehicles and during periods of darkness demonstrates the program’s significant operational value. The FAA also mandates a biennial recertification of aeronautical knowledge.
To align with these requirements, the U.S. Army Military Police Corps should adapt its complex sUAS operations training and evaluation standards to reinforce FAA compliance and ensure that military police LEA units maintain the proficiency necessary for safe, lawful, and effective employment.
Guiding sUAS Operations Through Policy
“To have a ready Army, to have an Army that the joint force needs, you need to have installations that can support that readiness.”
U.S. Army military police officers from the 529th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, conduct a mid‑shift traffic patrol stop at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy, May 21, 2026, during routine security operations supporting the installation’s law‑enforcement mission.
(U.S. Army photo by Josiana Greenaway)
(U.S. Army photo by Josiana Greenaway)
In sUAS operations, commanders must balance the imperative to protect Army readiness and power projection with the need to avoid unnecessary intrusions on the civil liberties and reasonable expectations of privacy of the Army’s transient population and installation residents. The following legal considerations should inform policy development for commercial off-the-shelf sUAS solutions:
- Military Rule of Evidence 313(b) permits installation commanders to conduct administrative inspections—including examinations at installation entry and exit points—to ensure security, military fitness, and good order and discipline. These inspections may use any reasonable natural or technological aid and may occur with or without notice.
- Hester v. United States (1924) clarified that “open fields” are not protected under the Fourth Amendment because they are not considered persons, houses, papers, or effects.
- California v. Ciraolo (1986) determined that naked-eye observation from an aircraft lawfully operating at 1,000 feet does not constitute a Fourth Amendment search. However, the “naked-eye” limitation may restrict the technical specifications of sUAS used to discover evidence.
- Dow Chemical Co. v. United States (1986) found that aerial photography using a commercially available camera does not constitute a Fourth Amendment search. However, the use of satellite imagery, parabolic microphones, or other high-tech devices would qualify as a search when used to gather evidence against a person.
- New York v. Burger (1987) established three requirements for warrantless administrative inspections: the government must have a substantial interest in regulating the activity; the inspection must be necessary to further that interest; and the regulatory scheme must provide an adequate substitute for a warrant.
- Kyllo v. United States (2001) held that when the government uses technology not in general public use to conduct surveillance, the activity constitutes a Fourth Amendment search. Without a warrant, such surveillance is presumptively unreasonable when used to discover evidence against a person. The thermal-imaging device in this case has capabilities similar to some sUAS sensors.
- United States v. Tuggle (2021) held that persistent camera surveillance of areas in public view does not violate the Fourth Amendment. Public view includes aerial observation, particularly on military installations where overflight is authorized.
- Alaska v. McKelvey (2024) concluded that aerial surveillance using a high-powered telephoto lens constitutes a search requiring a warrant when used to discover evidence against a person.
Protecting the Force as a Warfighting Function
Power projection is essential to the Army’s ability to support the joint force in large-scale combat operations. Adversaries will exploit any opportunity to disrupt U.S. capabilities, readiness, or intentions. Military police LEA units are the first to make physical contact with adversaries or threats at Army installations in the strategic-support area. Equipping military police LEA units with sUAS enhances their ability to observe the environment, detect threats at greater depth, and respond more rapidly and decisively.
s-UAS-enabled military police LEA units strengthen the protection of Army communities and power projection by converging on threats with greater speed and precision. The Army Transformation Initiative provides a pathway for military police LEA units to modernize police operations, and trained military police are prepared to employ sUAS effectively in the strategic-support area. Avoiding risk is not the best approach to protecting Army readiness; instead, Army law-enforcement partners worldwide have developed proven methods to reduce and mitigate the risks associated with sUAS operations.
Warfighting begins in the strategic-support area. Military police LEA units equipped with sUAS will deliver the protection required to preserve readiness and enable military operations across the strategic-support area.
About the Author
Major Ruffin serves as the Team Chief for the Army Joint Operations Center, HQDA G-3/5/7. He holds a master’s degree in business and organizational security management from Webster University, Webster Groves, Missouri.
Endnotes:
- https://www.army.mil/article/285285/remarks_as_prepared_for_the_army_posture_hearing_may_7_2025 ↩
- https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/2021/03/23/eeac3d01/20210319-csa-paper-1-signed-print-version.pdf ↩
- https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/Online-Exclusive/2024-OLE/Deliberate-Transformation/ ↩
- https://warontherocks.com/professionalism-is-the-foundation-of-the-army-and-we-will-strengthen-it/ ↩
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1n951Ntbpo ↩
Disclaimer 1: The contents of this article do not represent the official views of, nor are they endorsed by, the U.S. Army, the Department of War, or the U.S. government.
Disclaimer 2: This article was edited with the assistance of AI tools, and subsequently reviewed and edited by relevant Department of War (DOW) personnel to ensure accuracy, clarity, and compliance with DOW policies and guidance.