NOWA DĘBA, Poland — Western soldiers are using off-the-shelf Xbox controllers to pilot $15,000 interceptor drones that are combat-proven in Ukraine and now part of NATO’s toolbox for battling a growing threat.
The Merops system, an American-made air-defense setup that comes with an Xbox controller for the operators, launches interceptor drones capable of destroying enemy drone threats midair. US, Polish, and Romanian troops have been training on it as NATO rushes to field affordable air defenses across Eastern Europe.
A US soldier who pilots the interceptors told Business Insider that the Xbox controller is an ideal choice.
“It’s compact and easy to pack and store, and Xbox controllers are very rugged,” Army Sgt. Riley Hiner said on the sidelines of a Merops demonstration in southeast Poland this week.
‘Very intuitive’
The US and other global militaries have long used Xbox-style controllers to support operations, including those involving drones. The practice has expanded to the war in Ukraine and is now being applied to the Merops system.
Controllers akin to those of Microsoft’s Xbox or other video game systems have been increasingly integrated into military systems. The controls are often easier for soldiers who grew up playing with something similar to operate. They adapt right away, something that might not happen with an overly engineered system built to meet specialized military specifications.
Microsoft didn’t respond to Business Insider’s request for comment on the use of its gamepad in a military system.
Hiner said that he has experience playing video games on Xbox and believes that being a gamer can translate into being a good pilot. With the Merops system, there’s already a level of familiarity with the controls.
“I feel like a lot of soldiers nowadays do play Xbox,” he said. “It’s very intuitive. Once you learn the scheme of the controls, you just send them out, and you can fly.”
Other American soldiers, as well as Ukrainian operators, have said gamers make good drone pilots, and Hiner agreed, saying that troops with experience playing video games tend to have few problems handling the Merops system. The biggest challenge is just figuring out the best course for interception.
The first-person-view (FPV) drones that dominate the battlefield in Ukraine tend to require similar equipment to video games — controllers, screens, and headsets — but Ukrainian operators have stressed that the real missions are far more complicated with serious consequences. It’s often life or death.
For the Merops system, it’s a similar situation. A failed intercept means the target threat is likely to fly on to find its mark, potentially delivering death and destruction, as many Shahed-type drones in Ukraine have done.
Merops, developed by the American initiative Project Eagle, consists of a ground control station, launch platforms that are capable of firing from the bed of a pickup truck, and the “Surveyor” interceptor drone. It is operated by a team of four, including a commander, a pilot, and two technicians.
Ready in weeks, not months or years
Merops has been used extensively by Ukraine to intercept Russian strike and reconnaissance drones; US military officials said Kyiv has logged over 1,000 kills of the Shahed-type one-way attack drones Russia uses to bombard Ukrainian cities.
Now, NATO forces are training on the Merops system after Poland and Romania decided to purchase and deploy it to defend their airspace following a string of Russian drone incursions. The US is involved with the training program but has not procured the technology.
Merops, like other interceptor drone systems, comes delivered to the buyer with the necessary Xbox controller, the same exact system someone somewhere is using to play Call of Duty. If it breaks, soldiers can just purchase another off the shelf; they sell for as little as $30 on Amazon.
Soldiers training on the Merops system undergo a two-week course, a significantly expedited commitment compared to what’s required for other weapons. Part of the process involves simulated operations and drawing from lessons learned in Ukraine.
US Army Brig. Gen. Curtis King, the head of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, described Merops as a user-friendly system and said some of the NATO soldiers involved in training have never flown a drone before.
“Within days, they’re able to figure out how to operate the capability,” King said on the sidelines of this week’s technology demonstration. Within two weeks, soldiers will be able to “demonstrate how to effectively kill a drone. So this doesn’t take six months, it doesn’t take a year.”
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