During the Scarlet Dragon 26.3 exercise, Defense Daily’s Cal Biesecker interviewed Col. Staeheli, the operations chief for the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps, and Col. Monaghan, who provides acquisition support and oversight for the Corps as the JIOP director.

The exercise ran from Sept. 8-17 and included a heavy focus on integrating and validating different sensors to detect drone threats, including swarms, for defensive fires at the company, battalion and brigade levels. The XVIII Airborne Corps will conduct two Scarlet Dragon events in 2027 that will include sensors and effectors to counter drones and tactical ballistic missiles, and utilize offensive fires to target an adversary before they can launch their weapons.

The Sept. 16 interview took place at a training area at Fort Bragg, N.C.