The Ukraine Drone Effect on European Militaries
The war in Ukraine is the first large-scale, high-intensity military conflict in which both sides deploy different types of drones extensively and to different military effects. European countries should take note to adopt a holistic approach on drones and anti-drone defenses, argues Dominika Kunertova in this CSS Policy Perspective.
A police officer inspects parts of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), at a site of a Russian strike on fuel storage facilities, in Kharkiv, Ukraine October 6, 2022. Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy / Reuters
Key Points
- The war in Ukraine is shaping how the military is thinking about drones and normalizing the use of armed drones, as the context changes from counterterrorism to conventional warfare.
- European countries should adjust their drone acquisition strategies to include a full spectrum of drones, but also better integrate small drones serving land forces.
- European countries should invest in their under-developed air defenses and, given the changing operational dynamics in the lower airspace, acquire effective countermeasures against small drones.