Bandit Awareness Curriculum

Summary¶

After completing this curriculum, the participant understands the civilian drone threat landscape at a level that informs operational decisions, can operate libdrone Bandit with correct IFF discipline, and can contribute to community situational awareness in security-relevant environments. This curriculum is not about preparing for war. It is about informed awareness — the same logic that makes a good driver understand vehicle dynamics, or a good sailor understand weather patterns.

Concept¶

Part A — Theory: Understanding the threat landscape¶

The starting point is not technical — it is attitudinal. The correct mental model: awareness is protective. Understanding how civilian drones work, what they can and cannot do, and how to identify friendly platforms does not create a threat — it reduces the confusion that allows threats to operate in the dark.

Begin with the threat context: → threat-assessment explains the three categories relevant to civilian operations (criminal surveillance, hybrid warfare, fratricide) and what libdrone can and cannot address. The critical takeaway: libdrone addresses the fratricide and friendly identification problem; it is not a counter-drone system.

The IFF architecture answers the question "how do observers know this drone is ours?" rather than "how do we identify hostile drones." → iff-layers maps the five layers from IR strobe (simplest, most resilient) to future allied standards (reserved but not yet available). → iff-architecture explains the specific libdrone implementation and the role of the ESP32-S3 as the IFF intelligence bridge.

The lesson from Ukraine (2022–present): the IR strobe was the single most effective anti-fratricide measure precisely because it requires no infrastructure and continues working when everything else fails. Every Bandit deployment should include a fitted IR strobe. This is not a recommendation — it is a baseline requirement.

Part B — Practical exercises¶

The exercises use libdrone Bandit as a training tool. The Bandit's ArduPilot firmware and MAVLink telemetry make it the correct platform for ATAK integration exercises — it participates in the same digital network as the platforms it is meant to deconflict with.

Exercise 1 — Visual identification

Fly the Bandit at varying distances (10m, 30m, 50m, 100m) and altitudes (5m, 15m, 30m). From the ground, practise identifying: Is the drone moving toward me or away? Where is the nose pointing? What is the approximate altitude?

This is a prerequisite for VLOS operations in complex environments. A pilot who cannot reliably orient a drone at 50m distance is not VLOS-capable.

Exercise 2 — Night operations with IR strobe

Fit the IR strobe to the Bandit. Fly at night (civil twilight or darker). With NVG or a Night Vision-capable camera: observe the IR strobe. Confirm it is clearly visible and clearly associated with the drone's position.

Then: fly a second pass without the strobe active. Note the difference in visibility. This is the operational demonstration of why IR strobe discipline matters — the difference between visible and invisible at night is a switch.

Exercise 3 — ATAK CoT integration

Configure the ESP32-S3 MAVLink→CoT bridge on the Bandit (→ iff-architecture for the configuration procedure). Fly the Bandit at 30m altitude, 50m distance. On a TAK-enabled tablet at the launch point: observe the blue rotary-wing icon tracking the drone's GPS position in near-real time.

Discuss: Who else on this network can see this icon? What does it reveal about operational intent? When should CoT output be active and when should it be suspended? → operational-security provides the framework for this discussion.

Exercise 4 — Emissions awareness

Fly the Bandit with a 2.4 GHz spectrum analyser running on a laptop at the launch point. Observe: the ELRS control link signature is visible at several hundred metres. The HDZero 5.8 GHz transmission is also visible if your analyser covers that range.

This is the visceral demonstration of the OPSEC principle: every RF emission is a detectable signal. → emissions-control covers what can and cannot be reduced. The ELRS link cannot be eliminated — the drone requires control. The VTX power can be reduced or the VTX disabled entirely.

Exercise 5 — Autonomous area survey

Fly a programmed survey grid using QGroundControl mission planning. The Bandit executes the mission without continuous pilot input. The pilot monitors via → flight-modes — angle mode, GPS hold, and mission modes are all relevant.

This exercise demonstrates the autonomous capability that distinguishes Bandit from Pro and illustrates why → betaflight-gps-rescue (GPS Rescue on Pro) is a safety feature, not a navigation capability.

EMCON discipline¶

→ operational-security is the curriculum module on emissions control. Every participant should leave with a clear answer to: In what operational contexts would I reduce my RF emissions, and what capability do I trade?

The answer is context-dependent and requires judgment. The curriculum does not provide a single answer — it provides the framework and the exercises to develop that judgment.

Reference¶

Curriculum sessions¶

Session	Mode	Key articles
A1 — Threat landscape	Theory	threat-assessment, iff-layers
A2 — IFF architecture	Theory	iff-architecture, remote-id-compliance
A3 — Emissions awareness	Theory	emissions-control, operational-security
B1 — Visual identification	Practical	flight-modes, piloting-progression
B2 — Night ops + IR strobe	Practical	iff-layers
B3 — ATAK CoT integration	Practical	iff-architecture, lcm1-spec
B4 — Emissions demonstration	Practical	emissions-control, elrs-protocol
B5 — Autonomous survey	Practical	ardupilot-flight-modes, qgroundcontrol

Procedure¶

Participant prerequisites¶

Part B exercises require: A2 CoC (or direct supervision by an A2-qualified instructor), completion of Part A theory, and prior flight experience on Pro or Core before flying Bandit exercises.

Rationale¶

The Bandit Awareness Curriculum (V2.4.6) was a standalone document combining theory and practical exercises. The 3.0.0 version delegates the technical content to atoms and focuses the skeleton on the pedagogical sequence — what order to present the material, why each exercise exists, and what the participant should leave knowing.