logo
NATO Adapts to Ukraine's Drone Tactics in Modern Warfare

NATO Adapts to Ukraine's Drone Tactics in Modern Warfare

The Suna day ago

BRUSSELS: Ukraine's 'creativity', including its massive 'Spider's web' drone attack deep inside Russia, holds profound lessons for Western militaries, the top NATO commander overseeing battlefield innovation told AFP.
'What the Ukrainians did in Russia was a Trojan horse -- and the trojan horse was thousands of years ago,' French Admiral Pierre Vandier, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, said in an interview.
'Today, we see this kind of tactic being reinvented by technical and industrial creativity.'
Vandier said the operation showed how crucial innovation and adaptation were for victory, as modern warfare changes at lightning speed.
'It was a real coup.'
'We are entering a dynamic era where armies must rely on both major planning but also adaptive planning,' the navy commander said.
'We will witness continuous innovation where, week by week, month by month or year by year, we will be able to invent things we hadn't anticipated.'
'Must act quickly'
Faced with the Russian threat, NATO this week adopted new objectives for its defence capabilities to ensure it will be able to repel Moscow.
But Western intelligence agencies have warned that the Kremlin is reconstituting its forces at a pace far outstripping NATO and could be ready to attack the alliance in as little as four years.
'Time is truly a crucial parameter. We must act quickly,' Vandier said.
The admiral, who previously commanded France's flagship Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier, said NATO needed to amass the forces to dissuade any adversary from trying an attack.
'When you say 'I'm defending myself', you have the weapons to defend. When you say you deter, you have the weapons to deter,' he said.
'That's what should prevent war -- making the adversary think: 'Tomorrow morning, I won't win.'
NATO countries under pressure from US President Donald Trump are expected to agree a major increase in their defence spending target at a summit in The Hague this month.
That should see a dramatic surge in spending on military hardware.
But if cheap Ukrainian drones can inflict billions of dollars in damage on Russian bombers, is it still worth investing in vastly expensive systems?
'No-one in the military sphere will tell you that we can do without what we'll call traditional equipment,' Vandier said.
'However, we are certain we need new equipment to complement it.'
Officials say that over 70 percent of battlefield casualties in Ukraine are caused by drones.
But while drones are indispensable in modern warfare, they are not omnipotent.
'Today, you won't cross the Atlantic with a 10-meter-long (33-foot-long) drone. You won't easily locate submarines with such tools,' Vandier said.
'If they accompany your large platforms, you'll be able to achieve much better results at much lower costs.'
Integrating new technologies
The admiral, who works out of NATO's US base in Norfolk, Virginia, said the major challenge was 'integrating new technologies and new combat methods, based on what we've witnessed in Ukraine'.
NATO and Ukraine have established a centre in Poland designed to help the alliance learn lessons from Russia's invasion of its neighbour.
Artificial Intelligence and robotics are also increasingly having an impact and are set to help reshape the battlefield.
'All modern armies will have piloted and non-piloted capabilities,' Vandier said.
'It's much more efficient to deliver ammunition with a ground robot than with a squad of soldiers who could face a 155-millimeter (six-inch) shell.'
This transformation of military capabilities within the alliance, which NATO aims to expand by at least 30 percent over coming years, will come at a significant cost, estimated in hundreds of billions of euros (dollars).
Vandier insisted that while the financial effort was 'substantial' it was 'fully realistic'.
'Today, we have all the tools. We have the engineering. We have the expertise. We have the technology. So, we need to get started,' he said.
ob/del/ec/gil

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ukrainian woman searches for husband lost in action two years ago
Ukrainian woman searches for husband lost in action two years ago

The Star

time20 minutes ago

  • The Star

Ukrainian woman searches for husband lost in action two years ago

CHERNIHIV, Ukraine (Reuters) -When gaunt Ukrainian soldiers dismount from buses as part of prisoner swaps with Russia, Mariia Pylnyk tries to find out anything she can about her missing husband from the freed men, and hopes, just maybe, that he will be among them. Holding up a photograph of Dmytro Pylnyk, lost in action in early 2023, she has many questions. What happened to his unit when it was ambushed by Russian forces? Was he captured by Russia? Could he eventually be released? The mass prisoner swap last month was an opportunity for people like her to ask troops just out of Russian captivity about missing loved ones who they believe, or simply hope, are prisoners of war. The alternative is unthinkable. "I hold out great hope that someone has heard something, seen something," Pylnyk, 29, told Reuters at a recent exchange in May, flanked by other relatives of those missing in action. "My son and I are waiting for (his) dad to come home. Hope dies last. God willing, it'll all be okay and dad will come back." Precise numbers for soldiers missing in action are not made public. For Ukrainians, and for Russians on the other side of the conflict, it can be hard to find out even basic information. Pylnyk says she has written to government agencies and Russian authorities and learned almost nothing. Ukrainian officials say more than 70,000 Ukrainians have been registered missing since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. The majority are from the military but the figure also includes civilians. Another 12,000 have been removed from the list after being identified among the dead or returned in exchanges. Petro Yatsenko, a spokesman for the Coordination Council that arranges prisoner swaps from the Ukrainian side, said Russia had never notified Kyiv which soldiers it is holding prisoner. Ukraine collects that data by other means as best it can, he said. Pylnyk and others like her share information in online chat groups and use it to try to piece together what happened. "Misfortune brought us together," she said. "After two years of this, we're like a family." LAST PHONE CALL Dmytro Pylnyk, an electrician by trade, was drafted into the army in late 2022. He phoned home often so that his wife did not worry but last called on their son Artem's third birthday on Feb. 27, 2023. He was deployed from Kharkiv region towards Bakhmut, a small city that later fell to Russian forces after fierce fighting. His unit's convoy was caught in a Russian ambush, Mariia Pylnyk said she had learned. "The guys ran any which way," she said, citing conversations with commanders who told her 41 soldiers were missing in action. Two were captured and have since been released. One, who was freed in an exchange at Easter and had lost both his arms, was unable to share any valuable information, she said. The second refused to talk. The pace of prisoner swaps has increased in the last month. Ukraine and Russia each released 1,000 prisoners in a three-day exchange last month, the only tangible outcome of direct talks in Istanbul. A prisoner swap of under-25s on Monday was the first in a series of exchanges also expected to include each side repatriating the remains of thousands. Mariia Pylnyk has given her son's DNA to the authorities so that if Dmytro is confirmed killed in action they will be notified. "We all understand that this is war and anything is possible. But to this day, I don't believe it and I don't feel that he is dead. I feel like he's alive and God willing he'll return," she said. NO SIGNAL TO CALL She lives with Artem, now five, in Pakul, a village in the northern Chernihiv region that was briefly occupied by Russians. She has not told Artem his father is missing in action. "He knows that dad is a soldier, dad is a good man, dad is at work and just doesn't have any signal to call," she said. She takes comfort from seeing families reunited and never allows herself to cry in front of her son. She used to work in a shop, but Artem has often been ill. The angst of the last two years have taken their toll on her health too. She receives state support. Pylnyk has vowed to find her husband but has often not had time to attend prisoner swaps while looking after their son. "Only a weakling can give up, you know, throw up their hands and say that's it, he's not there," she said, adding that she was very emotional when she attended last month's big exchange. "When I was there, the fighting spirit awoke in me that I needed. I have to do this. Who else will do it but me?" (Editing by Mike Collett-White and Timothy Heritage)

Iran says new round of US talks planned for Sunday
Iran says new round of US talks planned for Sunday

The Sun

timean hour ago

  • The Sun

Iran says new round of US talks planned for Sunday

TEHRAN: Iran's foreign ministry has said a new round of nuclear talks with the United States is being planned for Sunday, after President Donald Trump said it was expected on Thursday. 'The next round of Iran-US indirect talks is being planned for next Sunday in Muscat,' foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement Tuesday, adding foreign minister and chief negotiator Abbas Araghchi would this week attend the Norway's Oslo Forum, a gathering of conflict mediators. Iran and the United States have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord with major powers that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received 'elements' of a US proposal for a nuclear deal, with Araghchi later saying the text contained 'ambiguities'. Iran said on Monday the US proposal was 'lacking elements' reflective of the previous negotiations and that it would present a 'reasonable, logical and balanced' counter-proposal to the United States through mediator Oman. Trump has said new US-Iran talks this week could clarify if a nuclear deal is possible to avoid military action. He added that the latest meeting with Iran was expected Thursday, although a source familiar with preparations said it would more likely be on Friday or Saturday. Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a 'non-negotiable' right and Washington calling it as a 'red line'. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Iran says new round of US talks planned for Sunday
Iran says new round of US talks planned for Sunday

Daily Express

timean hour ago

  • Daily Express

Iran says new round of US talks planned for Sunday

Published on: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Published on: Tue, Jun 10, 2025 By: AFP Text Size: Iran's uranium enrichment reached 60%, violating the 2015 deal's terms and edging closer to the 90% level required for nuclear arms. (AP pic) TEHRAN: Iran's foreign ministry has said a new round of nuclear talks with the US is being planned for Sunday, after President Donald Trump said it was expected on Thursday. 'The next round of Iran-US indirect talks is being planned for next Sunday in Muscat,' foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement Tuesday, adding foreign minister and chief negotiator Abbas Araghchi would this week attend the Norway's Oslo Forum, a gathering of conflict mediators. Advertisement Iran and the US have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord with major powers that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received 'elements' of a US proposal for a nuclear deal, with Araghchi later saying the text contained 'ambiguities'. Iran said on Monday the US proposal was 'lacking elements' reflective of the previous negotiations and that it would present a 'reasonable, logical and balanced' counter-proposal to the US through mediator Oman. Trump has said new US-Iran talks this week could clarify if a nuclear deal is possible to avoid military action. He added that the latest meeting with Iran was expected Thursday, although a source familiar with preparations said it would more likely be on Friday or Saturday. Iran and the US have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a 'non-negotiable' right and Washington calling it as a 'red line'. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60%, far above the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90% needed for a nuclear warhead. Western countries, including the US, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store