TADSS and C-UAS Training

This paper assesses the current state of Training Aids, Devices, Simulators, and Simulations (TADSS) supporting counter-UAS training across the joint force, identifies the structural gaps between current TADSS capability and operational training requirements, and recommends a future TADSS architecture that can scale to match the pace and complexity of the adversary drone threat.

The U.S. military is deploying counter-UAS systems against a threat that evolves faster than its training infrastructure can adapt. Operators arrive at Combat Training Center rotations without the foundational skills TADSS is supposed to deliver at home station, and units are forced to improvise against the defining lethality challenge of the current operational environment.

• CALL documented (Sep 2025) that C-UAS training is relegated to a secondary role at NTC, with units arriving without foundational knowledge.
• No standardized home-station C-UAS TADSS baseline exists across the force.
• Emerging capabilities — the Synthetic Training Environment, VBS4, and JCU 3D-printed target drones — point toward an affordable, scalable path.
• TADSS acquisition and policy have not kept pace with the C-UAS requirement.
• The paper recommends a future TADSS architecture that scales with threat complexity.