Stop the over-reliance on drones to win future battles, Rusi warns the UK's military

Western militaries should not depend on drones, given the problems that the Ukrainian armed forces are having with them, Rusi has said.

The think-tank report said that the war in Ukraine was dominated by the use of first-person view (FPV) drones in theatre and one-way attack (OWA) drones, helping conventional cruise and ballistic missiles for long-range strike campaigns.

Through the continued use of drones over traditional platforms like tanks and artillery, many senior figures in Western militaries, politicians, and journalists believe that previous military doctrines are outdated, Professor Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at Rusi, said.

• As UK waves goodbye to HMS Pembroke, here are five other Navy vessels sold abroad
• Ukraine's new supply chain explained as Netherlands and Nordic nations buy arms
• When pixel isn't perfect: Ukrainian armed forces to switch to MultiCam-style uniform

"They [drones] are not a replacement for your high-end weapon systems," Prof Bronk told BFBS Forces News.

"They are what are increasingly required to get your high-end weapon systems through to target."

Prof Bronk highlighted four problems with relying on drones too heavily in the face of Russian aggression.

First, he said that the over-reliance on drones will play into Moscow's strategy.

This is because Putin's forces have the best counter-drone capabilities in the world, having improved them steadily during the conflict.

"They have a wide range of dedicated C-UAS electronic warfare systems, modified infantry weapons and short-range air defence (SHORAD) systems integrated at all levels of their ground forces," Mr Bronk wrote in the paper.

Second, since Kyiv is focusing on creating more drones, it is causing Russia to develop its counter-drone capability, leading to more drone operator deaths in the summer of this year because Russians have targeted operator hides.  

Third, Prof Bronk told BFBS Forces News that despite Ukraine being a world-leader in the integration of drones into its forces, the country "is still being pushed back by Russian forces".

Fourth, he argued that drones should aid traditional firepower and not usurp it from its place in military strategy.

"I just don't think that faith in drones [is] going to solve all of our gaps quickly and give us transformative lethality," he concluded.

"I just don't think it's borne out by the data."

The Ukrainian government is hoping to make 4.5 million drones this year.

Last year, Kyiv made more than two million FPVs and 100,000 long-range OWA drones, President Zelensky said.