Overview

• Silent Swarm 25 concluded in Alpena, Michigan, after two weeks of experiments with autonomous uncrewed aerial and surface systems focused on swarming and spectrum maneuvering.
• A drone controlled via a fiber‑optic tether was evaluated, reflecting U.S. interest in concepts shown to work on Ukraine’s battlefields against electronic warfare.
• Michigan National Guard photos from the exercise show small quadcopters with cable spools that resemble fiber‑optic systems, though officials did not formally identify the models.
• The Navy tested scenarios for swarming attacks, electronic‑warfare roles, and persistent surveillance, gathering data to judge which systems performed best in contested environments.
• Officials reported no procurement decisions, positioning the event as an assessment to inform future choices as services race to adapt lessons from Russian and Ukrainian drone use.