William reflects on reality of drone warfare as he flies UAV with Welsh Guards

The Prince of Wales has taken the controls of an uncrewed aerial vehicle during a training session with the Welsh Guards.

Prince William, who became colonel of the regiment last year, joined soldiers from 1st Battalion on Salisbury Plain.

During his visit he spoke about the reality of drone warfare, as drones have become a significant weapon on the battlefield in the war in Ukraine, being used extensively by both sides.

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The Prince wore British MTP camouflage clothing and his Welsh Guards beret for the visit, during which he shot an L115A3 sniper rifle and fired the British Army stalwart - the General Purpose Machine Gun.

He appeared to enjoy flying the UAV and one of the regiment’s senior drone operators said afterwards that each one cost £7,000.

"With the drones he was saying what’s happening is reality…. it’s a new bit of kit brought into a military context," the soldier explained.

"Drones have been a thing for years, but now we’re utilising them as an asset on the ground and it's proven successful in current affairs that’s actually happening now."

Drone warfare is increasing both in scale and sophistication, due to advancements in technology, the growing accessibility of drones and their effectiveness in conflict.

There are ways to disrupt drones, for example by using jamming equipment which creates an interference in wireless communication systems.

But as drones are developing, so are evasion methods.

It was reported earlier this month that Russia is reverting to old school methods to make the drone-saturated skies of Ukraine even more deadly. 

Rather than being controlled wirelessly, they are using miles of fibre-optic cable - which unravels as they fly toward a targets, bypassing Ukrainian jamming equipment.

First-person view (FPV) drones are now the biggest killer on the battlefield and the use of them in Ukraine is not new, but the use of fibre-optic drones is.

Not all drones operate in the air. Special forces in Ukraine are using unmanned ground vehicles to retrieve their wounded and engage Russian targets without endangering human lives.

Drones and uncrewed vehicles are proving to be a key part of modern warfare - the conflict in Ukraine has inspired the UK's military investments.

Earlier this year, it was announced that £4.5bn will be invested over the next decade into drone development.

Then-Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge said: "The conflict in Ukraine has been an incubator for new ways of war and we need to learn and implement those hard-fought lessons."