CAMP GRUBER TRAINING CENTER, Okla. - Oklahoma Army National Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade Soldiers put their tactics, techniques and procedures to the test Sept. 13 during Exercise Thunderstruck 2.0, the capstone event in a succession of counter-unmanned aircraft exercises held this year at Camp Gruber Training Center.
The exercise tested concepts for countering evolving threats and drew visitors from across the state and world, including industry leaders, National Guard representatives, active-duty forces and emergency management officials.
Training included a Chinook infill, tactical movement through wooded terrain and clearance of an enemy trench under simulated multi-domain threats, highlighting the integration of emerging technologies to enhance lethality, improve survivability and sustain readiness for future conflicts.
“There are very few opportunities in a senior leader’s career when they are able to directly impact combat lethality and survivability – this is one of those times,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas Mancino, adjutant general for Oklahoma. “The purpose of Operation Thunderstruck is to place our Soldiers and Airmen in scenarios where they can experience drone warfare firsthand to develop the expertise needed on the future battlefield.”
On July 10, the Pentagon issued a memo titled “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance” in which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed the services to “treat drone warfare as a core component of readiness.”
Guided by lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, Exercise Thunderstruck 2.0 does just that.
“This is the new normal, not only for the warfighter, but for also for domestic operations,” said Lt. Col. Brent Hill, director of the counter-UAS and launched effects program and deputy director of military support for the Oklahoma National Guard. “We are using this exercise to figure out what problem sets we need to continue to work on. We are preparing for the future battlefield and constantly evolving, constantly learning.”
Leveraging state investment in infrastructure paired with organic engineering assets in the Oklahoma Army National Guard, Camp Gruber Training Center now boasts a trench-warfare training lane, modeled after those in Ukraine.
Camp Gruber Training Center has the only active, dedicated trench-warfare training lane in the National Guard.
A new unmanned aerial system, or UAS, and launched effects, or LE, complex with planned operations centers, a fabrication lab and launch pads also is under construction.
Once completed, the combination of the UAS/LE complex, trench-lane and the existing Military Operations in Urban Terrain site will enable units to rehearse full-spectrum UAS and counter-UAS operations in a multi-domain environment that reflects modern battlefield conditions.
“We have to get ahead; we can’t be behind our adversaries,” Hill said. “We can tailor this to whatever training set we want. This is for Oklahoma and surrounding states to come here and train for domestic operations or warfighting capabilities.”
Since the inception of the Oklahoma Army National Guard UAS/LE Program in 2022, members of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, alongside partners in industry, academia and federal, state and tribal governments, have worked actively together to address new security challenges posed by UAS technology, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
Exercise Thunderstruck 2.0 and Thunderstruck 1.0, hosted in June 2025, represent the Oklahoma Army National Guard UAS/LE program’s contribution to addressing emerging threats from the perspective of the tactical warfighter.
In April 2026, the Oklahoma Army National Guard plans to host Exercise Lightning Strike, which focuses on emergency response and aims to practice safe and effective drone deployment for domestic operations.
“I think it's really crucial to recognize the impact Oklahoma is having on these issues of national and strategic importance,” Mancino said. “We are here today bringing a whole-of-state approach to this problem. Governor Stitt and the [Oklahoma] Legislature have been extremely supportive of this effort to put together a kind of leading laboratory with our partners.”