US troops are shooting at balloons to figure out how to beat one of the Ukraine war's most 'dangerous' and unpredictable weapons

• Small drones have emerged as a serious problem on the modern battlefield, especially in Ukraine.
• The US military is training service members how to engage and defeat this dangerous threat. 
• At Fort Sill in Oklahoma, troops practice shooting down drones by firing at balloons.

An ordinary pink balloon dangling by a string from a small quadcopter drone shakes violently in the wind as it whips across the hills of southwest Oklahoma.

Two National Guardsmen closely track the movement of the balloon, which is unable to stay even remotely still. One of them steadily raises his rifle to the sky. A few seconds — and a few loud bangs — later, the balloon is gone.