> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://that-car-blog.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Inside the Army’s autonomous Ford F-250 drone defence test - URL: https://that-car-blog.ghost.io/inside-the-army-s-autonomous-ford-f-250-drone-defence-test/ - Published: 2026-08-27T18:05:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-27T18:06:05.000Z - Description: On 18 August, the U.S. Army tested a semi-autonomous Ford F-250 carrying Forterra’s driving system and an Edda counter-drone turret. The pickup came from Ford; the autonomous fighting system did not. - Author: Pierre-Emil Chantereau - Tags: Ny teknik, #ai-generated, #deep-story, #story-the-u-s-military-has-created-a-self-driving-drone-killing-ba, The U.S. Military Has Created a Self-Driving, Drone-Killing Battle Truck Out of a Ford F-250 Super Duty, #entity-forterra, #entity-9-mothers, #entity-richard-binhammer, #entity-xviii-airborne-corps, counter-drone warfare, unmanned ground vehicles, military technology, autonomous vehicles, Ford F-250, defense technology, Forterra, 9 Mothers, Richard Binhammer, XVIII Airborne Corps, #heat-cooling New technology · 26 August 2026 # Inside the Army’s autonomous Ford F-250 drone defence test On 18 August, the U.S. Army tested a semi-autonomous Ford F-250 carrying Forterra’s driving system and an Edda counter-drone turret. The pickup came from Ford; the autonomous fighting system did not. ![A grey Ford F-250 truck with roof-mounted tactical sensors parked on a cracked desert dry lake bed.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5c/50/5c507761-e9c5-4cb3-84fb-431db5680f5c/content/images/2026/08/vo-96f43a8e-sets-vo96f43a8eio1-slots-0.jpg) An autonomous Ford F-250 equipped with roof-mounted sensors scans the horizon over a desert dry lake.Illustration: AI-genererad The machine in four figures ## A work truck underneath, a layered defence system above The numbers describe two different things. The large capacities belong to the standard 2026 F-250 platform; the smaller figures describe the Edda turret fitted to the Army test vehicle. They are useful for scale, not a consumer comparison. Maximum towing capacity 23,000 lb Jones Ford Verde Valley states this maximum for the 2026 Ford F-250. Maximum payload 4,246 lb According to Jones Ford Verde Valley, for the 2026 Ford F-250. Edda turret weight 23 kg 50 pounds, according to @Drone\_Wars\_. Maximum stated range 100 m 328 feet; the stated engagement range is 10–100 metres, according to @Drone\_Wars\_. ### Who supplied what **Ford** supplied the underlying commercial truck platform. **Forterra** says it delivers the integrated autonomous mission systems on F-250 vehicles under the Sandhills 2.0 contract. **9 Mothers** supplied the Edda counter-drone turret. The **XVIII Airborne Corps** led the Army experimentation. Road & Track reports, citing Ford spokesperson Richard Binhammer, that Ford was not directly involved in upfitting this Sandhills vehicle. The outlet separately reports a Ford defence contract for three Super Duty prototypes for Heavy Infantry Squad Vehicle evaluation; that is not the same programme. From commercial platform to live fire ## One test, followed through the organisations that built it The chronology keeps the claims beside the voices making them. Use the filters to isolate the vehicle, the turret or the Army’s test; without JavaScript, every entry remains visible. Full sequenceTruckTurretArmy testSource voices 2026 platform ### The ordinary hardware sets the starting point According to Jones Ford Verde Valley, the 2026 F-250 has a maximum payload of 4,246 pounds, while the dealer states a maximum towing capacity of 23,000 pounds. Those limits describe the commercial truck before autonomy hardware and counter-drone equipment are added. Source: Ford Super Duty Truck Towing Capacity & Payload Specs Guide \[2026\] Contract statement ### Forterra names itself as the integrator > “Under the Sandhills 2.0 contract, Forterra is delivering fully integrated autonomous mission systems on Ford F-250 vehicles for the US Army” > > Forterra, company statement This is the pivotal procurement distinction: the recognisable Ford body is the host platform, while Forterra identifies itself as the contractor delivering the integrated mission system. 18 August 2026 ### The combined vehicle reaches Range 63 According to Motor1, the U.S. Army tested a semi-autonomous Ford F-250 with Forterra’s AutoDrive system and an Edda turret during the Project Sandhills 2.0 live-fire exercise at Range 63, Fort Bragg. > “A Forterra AutoDrive-equipped Ford F-250 semi-autonomous vehicle fitted with an Edda counter-unmanned aircraft system turret supports the Project Sandhills 2.0 live-fire exercise at Range 63, Fort Bragg, N.C., Aug. 18, 2026.” > > DVIDS, Sandhills Project image record ![An olive green unmanned military ground vehicle with RRAI branding traversing dry grassy hills while soldiers follow behind.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5c/50/5c507761-e9c5-4cb3-84fb-431db5680f5c/content/images/2026/08/6a3eb1737fee73e52f5d8542_68d9bb63c2950a7075b71c32_65c51a551bd34c6a7d60a3fe_HSR_7Still003-3-scaled-1.jpeg) Forterra’s wider field of work is autonomous ground movement alongside soldiers; this image shows a different unmanned military ground vehicle in that context. Foto: www.forterra.com 18 August 2026 ### Detection begins with sound @Drone\_Wars\_ reports that the 23-kilogram Edda turret was designed for fast-moving drones around 7 inches, or 18 centimetres, across a stated range of 10–100 metres. The account says acoustic sensors first detect an approaching drone, after which optical tracking locks on and a shotgun effector engages. **Listen**Passive acoustic sensors detect an incoming drone. **Track**An onboard optical system locks onto the target. **Engage**The shotgun effector acts within the stated range. These mechanism and range details are reported by @Drone\_Wars\_; no independent instrumented measurement is supplied in the evidence. 18 August 2026 ### The point-defence turret hits a drone > “A Bumblebee V2 small unmanned aircraft system falls after an EDDA point-defense turret engages it during Project Sandhills 2.0 counter-unmanned aircraft testing at Range 63, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on August 18, 2026.” > > DVIDS, counter-UAS engagement image record The official record documents an engagement and a falling target. It does not, by itself, establish how the system would perform outside this test. Army account ### Experimentation is the procurement method > “Through experimentation, the XVIII Airborne Corps is changing how we innovate and fight. We are putting emerging tech into the hands of Soldiers and partnering directly with industry, immediate warfighter feedback rapidly refines autonomous capabilities in real time.” > > @18airbornecorps, official account The language matters: this was operational experimentation intended to produce feedback, not evidence that the configuration had entered broad service. ![A rugged tactical off-road vehicle with Forterra branding parked in a grassy field near a forest.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5c/50/5c507761-e9c5-4cb3-84fb-431db5680f5c/content/images/2026/08/6a3eb164e826d430f099eaea_69efca24dd2f4c26836b87f0_mesa-1.jpeg) A Forterra-branded tactical vehicle. It illustrates the contractor’s autonomous-ground-vehicle work, not the F-250 used at Sandhills. Foto: www.forterra.com Control constraint ### A person is meant to remain in the loop @Drone\_Wars\_ quotes Col. Jeff Burgess as saying: “We want to ensure that a human remains in the control loop” before lethal action. Because the supplied evidence is a second-hand account, that safeguard should be read as the Army’s stated intention rather than an independently verified operating rule. The available record therefore supports a narrow conclusion: a semi-autonomous truck and turret combination was exercised successfully against a small drone target on this range, while the precise approval chain for lethal action remains described through reported statements. **What this changes:** commercial vehicles can shorten the path from available chassis to military experiment, but their familiar badges can obscure who performs the consequential integration. Here, Forterra supplied the autonomous mission system, 9 Mothers supplied the turret, and the Army evaluated the result. Ford built the base truck. Transparency: This account is based on DVIDS records, statements from Forterra and the XVIII Airborne Corps, specialist reporting supplied with the story, and published vehicle specifications. The lead image is AI-generated and labelled as an illustration; inline Forterra images are credited press material.