Annville, PA – A team of soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 28th Infantry Division won the innovation category at the U.S. Army’s inaugural Best Drone Warfighter Competition.
The competition, held Feb. 17-19 at the Huntsville Test Range in Huntsville, Ala., included soldiers from active duty, National Guard and Army Reserve units. It had three categories: Best Operator, Best Tactical Squad and Best Innovation.
The team’s project, dubbed Project R.E.D. (Recovery Exploitation Drone), utilized a drone equipped with AI-enabled object-recognition software to identify downed enemy or friendly drones and a robotic, 3D-printed, carbon fiber arm with claw to grab the downed drone and fly it back for intel exploitation or repair.
"I want to congratulate the 28th Infantry Division on their victory and the incredible ingenuity they shared with the rest of the country at the U.S. Army’s national competitions in Alabama,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the finest in the nation, and I am proud to see them showcasing our commonwealth’s long legacy of leadership and innovation on and off the battlefield. We have to believe in and invest in this type of ingenuity – and that’s why my administration will always support our National Guard and is calling for more resources to support Pennsylvania’s innovation economy in my latest budget.”
“The 28th Infantry Division team at the inaugural U.S. Army Best Drone Warrior Competition is a testament to the ingenuity and dedication that defines the Pennsylvania National Guard,” said Maj. Gen. John Pippy, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general and head of the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA). “Their innovative 'Project RED' is a remarkable achievement. It is more than just a win, it's a demonstration of how our soldiers are shaping the future of warfare.”
The 28th ID innovation team consisted of 1st Lt. Ryan Giallonardo, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Reed, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nathan Shea and Sgt. 1st Class Brent Wehr.
“This is a great achievement for the team and the UAS facility as well as the Pennsylvania National Guard as a whole,” said Reed, the 28th ID team captain. “Competing against the entire Army, putting in the work and coming out on top really speaks volumes to what the team has been doing and the hard work they’ve been putting in, and it highlights the Pennsylvania National Guard and what we’re able to accomplish.”
The 28th ID was the only Army National Guard unit to compete in all three events.
In addition to a plaque, the 28th ID team also received an Army Research Lab drone prototype and a one-year research-and-development agreement to allow the 28th ID to assist ARL in design improvements.
“We’re excited to continue to have incredible support from state and division level leadership,” said Reed. “They’ve been very helpful and very supportive of everything we’re doing, and it’s allowing us to highlight what we can do at our facility. And, I’m super proud of my entire team and everything they’re doing.”
Pennsylvania has a long history of leading on innovation, all the way back to the days of Ben Franklin. In his 2026-27 budget address, Governor Shapiro proposed increasing funding for Pennsylvania’s innovation economy, including:
- PA First Program: Connects businesses with trained workers and supports job retention and capital investments, will receive an additional $10 million for a total of $38 million in this budget.
- Innovate in PA 2.0: Back in 2013 under a Republican Governor, Pennsylvania launched the Innovation fund. Building off of that legacy, this budget creates the Innovate in PA 2.0 program to deploy nearly $100 million into the state’s innovation economy. Innovate in PA 2.0 would provide capital for promising startups – following in the footsteps of companies like Gecko Robotics in Pittsburgh or Gilson Snow in Selinsgrove – fund clinical trials for the life sciences, and develop a workforce and education pipeline to help these companies succeed.
- Ag Innovation Grant Program: Pennsylvania agriculture supports over 48,800 farms, nearly 600,000 jobs, and contributes $132.5 billion annually to our economy. Governor Shapiro understands that economic success is dependent on our rural communities and farmlands – that’s why Pennsylvania has leaned into the innovation found on our farms and has put real capital behind our farmers. The 2026-27 budget includes a $9 million increase – a total of $19 million – for the first-in-the-nation Agricultural Innovation program.
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