Green Berets Test Expendable Glider Drones for Battlefield Resupply at Trojan Footprint

Special Forces operators may soon have a new way to get supplies to units cut off behind enemy lines — expendable aerial gliders dropped from cargo aircraft. Army Green Berets tested the concept during Trojan Footprint 2026, the largest special operations training exercise in Europe this month.

The exercise brought together roughly 1,000 American special operations troops, including Army Special Forces and Navy SEALs, alongside 2,000 personnel from allied nations. During the event, U.S. troops and Romanian Air Force members loaded Long Range Grasshopper autonomous aerial resupply vehicles aboard an Alenia C-27J Spartan transport aircraft. The gliders were then dropped over North Macedonia, where they guided themselves to Ground troops using only low-electromagnetic-signature navigation before an onboard parachute brake deployed at the target.

The Grasshopper is built by DZYNE Technologies and carries up to 500 pounds of cargo per deployment. Its plain-glider variant emits a minimal electronic signature, making it difficult for adversaries to detect or intercept. The long-range version adds an onboard turboprop for extended reach. Both are designed to be single-use — once the payload is delivered, the airframe is not recovered.

Why Gliders Fit Modern Operations

The appeal of expendable gliders in contested environments is straightforward. A standard cargo aircraft can despin them from a standoff distance without entering danger-close airspace. Because the Grasshopper relies on passive navigation rather than active electronics, it avoids the radar and electronic warfare signatures that most uncrewed systems produce. For units isolated or surrounded in a high-threat corridor, a low-signature delivery system could be the difference between resupply and scarcity.

The Army has been expanding its evaluation of drones for logistics and evacuation roles across Europe over recent months. Ground vehicles have been tested for forward supply runs, and oversized aerial drones have been assessed for casualty evacuation. The addition of expendable aerial gliders rounds out a broader Army vision of using robotics to keep sustainment lines open when traditional convoys are too exposed.

Scale and Scope of Trojan Footprint 2026

The exercise ran from early May through May 21 and was centered in eastern Europe, with DZYNE's Grasshopper drops conducted in North Macedonia. The multinational format reflected a core goal of the exercise: testing interoperability between allied special operations commands. U.S. Special Operations Command Europe described Trojan Footprint as a proving ground for emerging tactics and technology, with particular emphasis on distributed logistics in environments where air superiority cannot be taken for granted.

What Comes Next

No formal fielding decision has been announced. The Trojan Footprint evaluation is a data point, not a procurement action. But the operational logic is clear — if you'll forgive the pun — and the results from this exercise will likely feed into ongoing Army requirementsdocuments for forward resupply capabilities. Operators and sustainment planners will be watching to see whether the concept advances to a more formal acquisition pathway.

Sources: Task & Purpose, Business Insider