Artillery needs to be spread out and on the move to survive future drone fights, US Army general says

Yahoo

26-02-2025

Drones have changed the way that artillery units are fighting in Ukraine.
They offer constant surveillance of the battlefield and can deliver devastating precision strikes.
A US Army general says artillery will need to be more mobile and dispersed in future wars.
US Army gun crews are studying the war in Ukraine and how artillery battles are fought under the never-ending surveillance of drones, any one of which could be carrying a bomb.
A senior Army officer told Business Insider that mobility and dispersal will be key to survival in future fights.
"When we're under constant or near-constant observation, primarily from overhead, we must be more mobile," Brig. Gen. Rory Crooks, director of the long-range precision fires cross-functional team at Army Futures Command, told Business Insider.
"We must be more dispersed," he said, "and we must have a rate of fire that allows us to stop or emplace our artillery, fire sufficient munitions, and then displace well before the anticipated effects of counter-battery [fire] are able to come to bear."
Drones are everywhere in Russia's war against Ukraine. Both militaries are using them for reconnaissance and strike missions.
The presence of drones has complicated the work of artillery units, as uncrewed systems can be used directly to attack the firing position or indirectly to help guide counter-battery fire.
A National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2025 report said that "observations from Ukraine reinforce the critical role of mobile cannon artillery." It said that "the extensive employment of unmanned aerial systems and near ubiquitous sensing only increase the risks."
Crooks said it's important for artillery forces to constantly be on the move. Anytime the gun crews are static, they are putting themselves at risk. With drones becoming more prolific, one could destroy a cannon or wipe out its crew.
Rate of fire and resupply, ensuring there's enough ammunition on tap to keep the guns blasting without interruption, are critical as well. Resupply must match the rate of fire, or it will create serious problems.
"We have to have the ability to quickly resupply in smaller capacities but continue to move and resupply at short halts," Crooks said, adding "that's going to be important for our survival moving forward."
The high-intensity artillery fire in the Ukraine war has underscored the need for sufficient ammunition stockpiles and the ability to deliver ammunition to front-line artillery crews. Elevated demand has driven the US and European countries to boost production of key shells to not only support Kyiv but also ensure they are prepared for future conflicts.
Researchers at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, wrote in a report this month that the constant presence of drones above the battlefield has forced Ukraine and Russia to change how they employ artillery.
Hundreds of meters separate the guns, and firing positions are dug in with protection on all sides. Ammo and the resupply vehicles are kept concealed and away from the firing positions.
The heavy "guns tend to fire for a protracted period as the dug-in positions offer significant protection from counter-battery fire, the volume of which is itself reduced by the dispersion of guns," the report said. It added that the guns are periodically moved to avoid being knocked out by glide-bomb strikes.
Crooks said that the Ukraine conflict has also seen the introduction of ground-launched attack drones like loitering munitions being used to execute missions that have historically been almost exclusively done by artillery. But that doesn't necessarily mean that cannons are going anywhere.
The general said that "you absolutely need artillery to set the right conditions to exploit and perform maneuver warfare adequately in large-scale combat operations."
Read the original article on Business Insider