Army to nix drone battalion set up to absorb lessons from Ukraine war

The U.S. Army is planning to phase out a drone battalion tasked just last year with studying and taking on board lessons on drone warfare, including from the ongoing Ukraine war, an Army official confirmed to CBS News on Thursday.

Multiple current and former U.S. officials told CBS News the decision to nix the unit came amid tension between the senior officers who championed the battalion and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the acting chief of staff of the Army.

The unit was pushed by former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and the former commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Gen. Christopher Donahue . Both were fired or forced to retire early, paving the way for LaNeve's rise to acting Army chief of staff.

The unit, known as the Unmanned Assault Battalion, was schooled in drone warfare and set to be used as a special group that could deploy anywhere drones were required.

The war in Ukraine has highlighted the key role drones now play in warfare for several years. Early in the war launched jointly by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, that message was driven home further as Iran launched one-way attack drones at U.S. military installations across the Middle East.

The Unmanned Assault Battalion is participating in an exercise set to run through September, where it will deliver what its members have learned over the past year to inform the Army's future warfare.

An Army official told CBS News that, after the exercise, the unit will "refocus on its core warfighting tasks as an airborne infantry battalion," which means the soldiers are trained to parachute and drop out of aircraft. The battalion is part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that the drone unit would be phased out.

Last year, George, the former Army chief of staff, and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll rolled out what they called the Army Transformation Initiative , which emphasized unmanned systems.

"I don't think I've talked to a single person who has said we shouldn't be learning from what's occurring in Ukraine," Driscoll told Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation" last year.

A spokesperson for the Army secretary said Driscoll did not have a comment on the drone unit.

Multiple current and former officials told CBS News there has been long-simmering tension between LaNeve and the former senior officers who pushed for the unit to be established.

The officials said there was prior tension between LaNeve and Donahue after LaNeve's tenure as the commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division ended earlier than what is typical for that position. After he was "soft relieved," the officials said, LaNeve was quickly pushed out of his house at Fort Bragg in North Carolina so the new commander could move in. Officials said that episode contributed to ill will between LaNeve and Donahue.

A spokesperson for LaNeve referred questions to the Army, which declined to comment beyond the statement confirming plans to shut down the drone unit.