MUSKOGEE, Okla. — The Oklahoma National Guard, in partnership with Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management, hosted Exercise Lightning Strike, a domestic exercise scenario of an EF5 tornado, at Camp Gruber Training Center, April 14 and 15, 2026.
At the center of the exercise is the integration of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) across various scenarios, enabling real-time data sharing, improved situational awareness and more effective coordination among participating agencies.
“The primary objective is to improve how agencies work together when using drones and other emerging technologies during emergencies,” said Lt. Col. Franklin Alexander, director of military support for the OKNG. “We’re looking for gaps, friction points, and ways to operate faster and more safely.”
Exercise Lightning Strike brings together a wide range of agencies to operate within a shared framework, reinforcing the Guard’s role in supporting civil authorities during domestic incidents and natural disasters.
The exercise welcomed federal, state and local agencies, including Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Muskogee Emergency Management and first responders, NASA, OSU Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education (OAIRE), along with other academic and industry partners.
“In domestic response missions, the OKNG is never the lead agency,” Alexander said. “In our support role, we take direction from the designated incident command. Training together builds trust, improves communication, and ensures that when Oklahomans need help, agencies operate as one team.”
Day one of the exercise included a symposium for sharing lessons learned, a large-scale table top exercise walking through each scenario, giving planners, incident commanders and first responders an opportunity to experience response missions and integrate within a common framework. Day two culminated with full-scale training on the ground for three sub-scenarios.
“The exercise lanes train on search and rescue, civil disturbance and wildland firefighting, all while integrating uncrewed aircraft systems,” Alexander said. “These scenarios reflect the most common and demanding missions we support across Oklahoma that oftentimes require a multi-agency response.”
Like real-world responses, the exercise requires clear and constant communication from the incident commander to the pilots flying manned and unmanned systems and the multiple agencies operating on the ground. This collaboration helps ensure airspace management, efficient deployment of resources and a shared understanding of the situation.
“As we go through the exercise and we have a lot of key learnings on how to make that integration work, so that one we’re safe, but also accomplishing that emergency management mission,” said Chris Swan, Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education and Air Boss for the exercise “By doing these kind of exercises and really exercising those communication channels and getting common operating language is critical to the effectiveness of the mission.”
Uncrewed aircraft systems play a central role throughout each training lane, providing aerial overwatch and real-time updates to decision-makers on the ground.
“These uncrewed aircraft systems can be rapidly deployed to assess damage, locate individuals in distress, and monitor critical infrastructure,” said Lt. Col. Brent Hill, Oklahoma National Guard director of unmanned aerial systems and exercise co-director. “They provide the incident command a real-time snapshot of the current situation.”
Typically, an incident command post is located offsite, especially during a large-scale natural disaster. By using UAS live-stream capabilities, exercise participants were able to successfully stream drone feeds into the incident command post, allowing for the incident commander to assess the situation and make informed decisions in real-time.
Exercise Lightning Strike participants worked together to identify capability gaps and strengthen integration between agencies, particularly in communication, information sharing and airspace coordination.
“The most common challenges involve communications gaps, information sharing, and understanding each other’s capabilities,” Alexander said. “This exercise allows us to identify and fix those issues in training before they affect a real response.”
Insights gained from Exercise Lightning Strike will directly inform future training, modernization efforts and the integration of emerging technologies into domestic response operations.
“Success means we tested our command-and-control systems, identified improvements, and left stronger than we arrived,” Alexander said. “More importantly, it means Oklahoma’s emergency response community is better prepared to work together and use new technologies safely to protect lives and critical infrastructure.”