How front-line NATO forces are training to operate and survive one of the Ukraine war's deadliest threats
The Ukraine war has seen a proliferation of drones on both sides of the conflict.
NATO allies are closely watching the developing drone war and learning from the battlefield tactics.
Military leaders from Finland and Poland told BI how their forces are training with drones.
Finland and Poland — two front-line NATO allies that share borders with Russia — are experimenting with new ways of war using drones, military leaders told Business Insider, noting the radical changes unfolding in Ukraine.
Col. Matti Honko, the commanding officer of Finland's Guard Jaeger Regiment, said that one of the main lessons from Ukraine is that there is increased transparency on the modern battlefield because of drones, satellites, and other means of surveillance.
Building up forces has become much more challenging. Large troop concentrations now have to be assembled on the move, Honko explained to BI last week on the sidelines of the Lively Sabre 25 exercise in southern Finland, where dispersal and mobility were key focal points for the training.
Soldiers are learning to listen for drones and what actions to take in response to reduce their exposure and vulnerability.
"Whenever you hear a drone, you cannot know if it's your own or not. So you cannot be sure, because you cannot distinguish it from the sound," Honko said. "It means that you start what I would call: immediate air-cover procedures. You find shelter, you try to disperse yourselves, you try to avoid being detected."
He said this also includes counter-drone and other defensive measures that should be taken. He declined to go into specifics about the training scenarios but stressed that they are not yet fully integrated into everyday drills.
Cpl. Jimi Järnberg, a soldier of the 3rd Jaeger Company, a unit of the Finnish Army's Pori Brigade, told BI during Lively Sabre that uncrewed systems are excellent surveillance tools that can be used to avoid exposing humans to harm when gathering intel, but the Ukraine war also highlights the danger of turning drones into bombs.
This type of weapon — a cheap, commercially available quadcopter drone that carries a small explosive payload, for example — is omnipresent on the battlefield in Ukraine. Both Kyiv and Moscow use them to deliver precision strikes on enemy troops, armored vehicles, and trenches.
Drones are widely recognized as the future of war. In Ukraine, they are proving deadlier than artillery, with reports from the front lines indicating they are responsible for roughly 80% of Russian front-line losses. As the world watches these developments, Finland is not alone in recognizing the significance of this threat and integrating new drone tactics into its training.
Brig. Gen. Michal Strzelecki, the commander of Poland's 6th Airborne Brigade, which participated in Lively Sabre, told BI that his forces are also experimenting with this technology.
"We are in the early phase of that," the general said, adding that "we are trying to follow everything that is happening behind the border, like what the Ukrainians are doing."
But it's difficult to keep up with the pace of innovation. Strzelecki said he wants to stay up to date, but new drone technology is emerging on the battlefield so fast that sometimes all he can do is observe the changes and wait for the right moment to act.
"The war in Ukraine shows the significant role of the lower-level" drones, he explained. "That's something we are developing right now. We are training people how to operate them and waiting to implement the best version of that which will be the most suitable for our unit."
He said Polish forces are training to use drones for different types of operations and were using them during Lively Sabre.
Polish Capt. Bartosz Januszewski said his forces are using the Israeli-made Orbiter reconnaissance drone, but the country is also starting to develop smaller systems like the quadcopter-style drones that are running rampant in Ukraine.
He told BI that Poland wants smaller drones for strike and reconassiance missions. And while the country recognized the need for drones before the Ukraine war, the conflict shows that this is the direction warfare is headed, sparking greater urgency in developing and fielding this tech.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
29 minutes ago
- Axios
Putin tells Trump he'll hit Ukraine back for surprise drone attack
President Trump said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him he will "have to respond" to the massive Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's strategic air bases. Why it matters: Trump has been pushing Russia and Ukraine to end the war for four months, but after the call with Putin he admitted that "it was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace." Driving the news: The Ukrainian drone attack took out a significant proportion of Russia's strategic long range bomber fleet. The bombers that were targeted are significant not only to Russia's war against Ukraine, but also for its nuclear deterrence. Before the call with Trump, Putin met via videoconference with top officials about the Ukrainian attack and the ceasefire talks with Ukraine. During the meeting, which was broadcast live on Ukrainian television, Putin said the attacks put in doubt any ceasefire or leader-level summit between Russia and Ukraine. The other side: Ukrainian officials have mocked Russia's characterization of its secret "Spiderweb" operation as a "terrorist attack," given Russia has been bombarding Ukrainian cities for three years, not just striking military targets as Ukraine did. Ukraine has agreed to Trump's initial proposal for an unconditional ceasefire, but its leaders sound just as pessimistic as Putin about the chances of a full peace deal any time soon. What he's saying: Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social account that his call with Putin lasted approximately one hour and 15 minutes. "We discussed the attack on Russia's docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields", Trump wrote.
Politico
30 minutes ago
- Politico
Musk vs. Hill GOP leaders
Presented by THE CATCH-UP ALL THINGS MUSK PASS: Top Republican Hill leaders spent the morning defending President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' against an onslaught of attacks from Elon Musk as they race to hold the GOP conference together long enough to deliver the sprawling legislation to Trump's desk. Musk has continued his spree today on his X account, amplifying several messages of opposition to the debt increase from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). In the House: Speaker Mike Johnson 'spent several minutes during a closed-door House Republican Conference meeting on Wednesday morning pushing back on Musk and trying to reassure Republicans after Musk signaled that he thinks lawmakers who support the megabill should be ousted next year,' POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney report. What he said: Johnson told members that he's tried to call Musk to explain the process behind the megabill, as well as a separate bill to claw back billions in spending. 'Johnson's message, in the meeting, according to the attendees: People will have differences of opinion; don't take it personally.' 'I think he's flat wrong, and I've told him as much,' Johnson said at a news conference after the meeting. In the Senate: Majority Leader John Thune downplayed any impact that Musk's criticism might have on his whip count. 'Obviously he has some influence, got a big following on social media,' Thune told reporters. 'But at the end of the day this is a 51-vote exercise here in the Senate, and I think the question for our members is going to be, 'Would you prefer the alternative?' And the alternative isn't a good one.' Thune said he spoke with Musk by phone a few days ago, before the tech mogul's X tirade yesterday. 'There are going to be a lot of people who share commentary about this, and we just got to make sure we're doing everything we can to get our arguments out there,' he added. The price tag: The Congressional Budget Office released its full score for the megabill today, predicting that the measure would grow the federal deficit by $2.4 trillion, POLITICO's Jennifer Scholtes and colleagues report. Though top Republican lawmakers 'are expected to downplay the significance of the complete price tag from the Congressional Budget Office, the numbers will influence what lawmakers are able to include in the final package,' they note. See the full CBO report Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@ 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. WAR IN UKRAINE: Trump said in a post on Truth Social at 12:40 p.m. that he had just wrapped up a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that lasted for an hour and 15 minutes. 'It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace,' Trump said. 'President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond' to Ukraine's stunning drone attacks on Russian airfields. Another issue: Trump also indicated that the two discussed Iran nuclear negotiations and said Putin agreed that Iran 'cannot have a nuclear weapon.' Putin, said Trump, also 'suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion.' The view from Washington: Keith Kellogg, Trump's Ukraine envoy, said on Fox News this morning that 'the risk of escalation from the war in Ukraine was 'going way up' after Ukrainian forces used drones to strike nuclear-capable bombers at several airbases deep inside Russia,' per Reuters. The view from Moscow: Putin has 'openly questioned the point of peace talks with Ukraine after accusing Kyiv's senior leadership of ordering deadly terrorist attacks on bridges in Russia that killed seven and injured 115 more,' Reuters reports. The view from Europe: The U.S. is 'refusing to provide air defenses to back the 'reassurance force' the UK and France are planning in a postwar Ukraine,' Bloomberg's Ellen Milligan and colleagues report. Despite British PM Keir Starmer's insistence on a so-called U.S. 'backstop,' European allies have concluded that Trump 'won't provide the guarantees they have sought to back the Europe-led 'coalition of the willing.'' And yet European leaders are 'increasingly optimistic that they can support Ukraine financially and militarily against Russia' even if Trump pulls support — though not at the level that the U.S. provides, NYT's Steven Erlanger reports. The new front line: 'Drone Attacks Are the New Front in War. NATO Is Trying to Catch Up,' by NYT's Lara Jakes: 'Assaults in Russia and Ukraine have shown major military powers that they are unprepared for evolving forms of warfare, and need to adapt.' 2. ALSO ON TRUMP'S MIND: A new ADP report released this morning showed that 'private sector job creation slowed to a near standstill in May, hitting its lowest level in more than two years as signs emerged of a weakening labor market,' CNBC's Jeff Cox reports. Trump responded to the news with a broadside missive directed at Fed Chair Jerome Powell. 'ADP NUMBER OUT!!! 'Too Late' Powell must now LOWER THE RATE. He is unbelievable!!! Europe has lowered NINE TIMES!' the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. 3. WHITE-KNUCKLED AT THE WHITE HOUSE: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will be the latest world leader to step into the proverbial ring with Trump when he visits the Oval Office on Thursday. It's the venue — which has already seen two blow-ups this year — that has 'elected leaders across the nation and world are worrying about who will be next,' WaPo's Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and colleagues write, 'weighing the benefits of a high-profile meeting with the most powerful man on Earth against the chance that they will be politically bruised by an Oval Office ambush.' Fear not, chancellor: A senior White House official 'downplayed the likelihood of tension' with Merz, 'saying the meeting 'shouldn't be any different than any other state visits.'' 4. IMMIGRATION FILES: As Trump ramps up his massive deportation effort, ICE is launching a new nationwide push, called 'Operation At Large,' that 'includes more than 5,000 personnel from across federal law enforcement agencies and up to 21,000 National Guard troops,' NBC's Julia Ainsley and colleagues scoop. 'Drawing those numbers from other law enforcement agencies, though, has been a source of tension among some officials, who feel they have been taken off other core national security missions, according to three additional law enforcement and military officials.' Inside the numbers: 'The plan calls for using 3,000 ICE agents, including 1,800 from Homeland Security Investigations, which generally investigates transnational crimes and is not typically involved in arresting noncriminal immigrants; 2,000 Justice Department employees from the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration; and 500 employees from Customs and Border Protection. It also includes 250 IRS agents.' How it's playing: The administration is already 'taking hundreds of migrant children already residing in the United States out of their homes and into government custody, at times separating them from their families and making it more difficult for them to be released,' CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports. Related read: 'Trump admin shrugs off congressional concerns over ICE spending,' by POLITICO's Myah Ward and Hailey Fuchs 5. A NEW YORK MINUTE: GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, who's considering a run for governor next year, is turning some of her political attention back home, POLITICO's Nick Reisman reports from Albany. Today, she is announcing the creation of a new PAC dubbed 'Save New York' to raise cash on behalf of local Republican candidates in the state — the latest indication she is moving toward a 2026 gubernatorial run. Another sign: At the Staten Island GOP's annual Lincoln Day Dinner, Stefanik dropped another marker that she's leaning toward a run: 'Are we ready to fire [Democratic Gov.] Kathy Hochul next year?' she asked attendees, per Fox News' Paul Steinhauser. Reminder: POLITICO and WNBC are sponsoring the NYC Democratic mayoral primary debate tonight, with POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg co-moderating. The pre-read: '5 things to watch in first debate,' by POLITICO's Nick Reisman … The companion read: POLITICO's New York team will be following the action on our live blog tonight 6. WHAT ED THE EAGLE IS UP TO: Ed Martin, Trump's pardons czar at the Justice Department, is 'considering a plan to grant clemency to dozens of so-called fake electors who aided Donald Trump in his scheme to overturn the 2020 election,' Mother Jones' Dan Friedman reports. The plan is to 'recommend federal pardons for all these reputed Trump electors, despite the fact that none have been charged with federal crimes' — amounting to a largely symbolic effort that would have 'no official bearing on the state criminal cases.' It is part of a 'broader initiative to present Trump with the option of issuing numerous symbolic pardons, many of them posthumous.' 7. NEWS FROM THE WILDERNESS: 'Democrats' online problem: They're not doing enough year-round,' by POLITICO's Jessica Piper: 'Conservative organizations spend more than left-leaning ones on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram in non-election years, capturing a large audience while those Democratic-aligned groups go more dormant in the digital space. And it's making Democrats' election-year persuasion game that much harder. That's the warning of a new report from Tech for Campaigns, a political nonprofit focused on using digital marketing and data techniques to support Democrats, that argues one of the party's major problems is that its communication falters in non-election years.' TALK OF THE TOWN Carl Nassib, who was the first openly gay NFL player to appear in a regular season game, is now honored with an exhibit at the National Museum of American History. CULINARY CORNER — MAGA hotspot Butterworth's is now offering '10% off checks for Kennedy Center ticket holders, staffers and performers,' per Axios' Tal Axelrod. … And NYC transplants rejoice: H&H Bagels is opening a location in Mount Vernon Triangle this month, per the Washingtonian's Ike Allen. OUT AND ABOUT — The Washington AI Network last night hosted the Inaugural AI Honors at the Waldorf Astoria, where Tammy Haddad welcomed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who gave details on the newly announced Center for AI Standards and Innovation. Honorees included Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Frank Whitworth, Jack Hidary, Patricia Falcone, Ylli Bajraktari and Father Paola Benanti. CNN's Sara Sidner emceed. SPOTTED: Barbara Humpton, Kellyanne Conway, Matt Tait, Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Vince Fong (R-Calif.) and Ben Cline (R-Va.), Jeff Freeland, Paige Wiley, Alex Flemister, Hailey Borden, Karalee Geis, Colton Snedecor, Parker Magid, Ed Luce, Phil Rucker, Sumi Somaskanda, Sam Feist, Pamela Brown, Kaitlan Collins, EU Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė, Reema Dodin, Vinoda Basnayake, Matt Dornic and Kathleen Buhle. — SPOTTED at Latino Magazine's annual LATINO 100 Awards at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco yesterday: Alicia Menendez, Monica Garay, Maria Luisa Boyce, Ivelisse Porroa-Garcia, Margita Thompson, José Antonio Tijerino, Omar Franco, Norberto Salinas, Estuardo V. Rodriguez, Isaac Reyes and George Agurkis. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Andrew Vontz, former Strava exec, and Jonathan Kaplan, former comms officer at the Open Society Foundations, have launched a new podcast, 'The United States of Sweat' presented by Choose the Hard Way, featuring conversations with elected officials about how they stay physically active and grounded. MEDIA MOVES — A quartet of journalists are departing the industry full-time to pursue new endeavors: Shira Stein is leaving the San Francisco Chronicle as Washington correspondent to become a veterinarian. … Heather Long is joining Navy Federal Credit Union as chief economist. (She will still write a monthly column for WaPo.) … Katherine Swartz is leaving NOTUS and moving to Zambia to join the Peace Corps to teach English. … Craig Torres is departing from Bloomberg to join the Andersen Institute for Finance & Economics as editorial director, per Talking Biz News. TRANSITIONS — Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has launched a new advisory firm, Clarion Strategies, alongside former U.S. NATO Ambassador Julianne Smith and former Pentagon legislative affairs chief Rheanne Wirkkala. Also joining are former VA Secretary Denis McDonough as a principal, with Ely Ratner and Lindsey Ford advising part-time. … Caroline Farrell is joining Foley Hoag as counsel in its health care practice. She most recently was at HHS as lead counsel advising the CMS on Medicaid and Medicare policy. … Eden Alem is now deputy comms director for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Dems. She previously was national press secretary at Climate Power. … Nicole Fondots is now digital marketing director for the RNC. She previously was VP of strategy at Techne. … Hana Tadesse is now VP of comms for the Seattle FIFA World Cup 26 local organizing committee. She previously was comms director for Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.). Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says Putin told him ‘very strongly' he will ‘have to respond' to Ukraine drone strikes in hour-long call
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Russia's Vladimir Putin has informed him that his forces will respond to Ukraine's brazen and devastating attack on Russian airfields by a fleet of small suicide drones over the weekend. In a Truth Social post, Trump said he had spoken with the Russian leader for an hour and 15 minutes and described the call as 'a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace.' 'We discussed the attack on Russia's docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides ... President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,' Trump said. The president also stated that he and Putin had discussed ongoing nuclear deal negotiations between the U.S. and Tehran, and said 'time is running out' for Tehran to come to an agreement 'which must be made quickly,' and revealed that he believes that Putin agrees with his stance on the Iranian nuclear weapons program. Trump added that Putin 'suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion.' 'It is my opinion that Iran has been slowwalking their decision on this very important matter, and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!' he said. The American leader's social media post is his first mention of the audacious strike on Russian bombers by Ukraine's security services since they were first reported days ago. The attack, dubbed Operation Spiderweb, by Ukrainian authorities, was carried out by the SBU and destroyed more than 40 Russian bombers, a significant portion of Moscow's strategic bombing capability. Ukraine has claimed the attack — a homegrown operation in which drones were concealed in false compartments within prefabricated sheds, smuggled into Russia, then launched en masse simultaneously many thousands of miles apart – and many thousands of miles behind enemy lines — destroyed 41 Russian aircraft, causing $7bn worth of damage to long-range bombers that carried the cruise missiles Putin has been using against Ukraine. Videos of the attack on one airfield in Belaya revealed aircraft bursting into flames, as drones, which may have been autonomous or semi-autonomous, dived onto planes sitting on the tarmac. Days later, a massive underwater bomb targeted a key bridge linking occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland. The two daring raids by Ukrainian special forces have stunned the Kremlin, bolstered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and sent shockwaves through defense departments around the world. But Trump, who rarely misses a chance to opine on any particular topic, had remained silent for days. It was a rare period of reticence for a leader who once claimed he could bring about a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv within 24 hours, and who infamously berated Zelensky by telling him during an infamous Oval Office showdown in February that he didn't 'have the cards' to keep up the fight against Russia. When The Independent asked the White House if Zelensky might have had some cards up his sleeve that the president hadn't known about during a press briefing on Tuesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump 'remains positive at the progress" the two sides have made in U.S.-brokered peace talks that just ended in Istanbul, Turkey. 'But he also is a realist, and he realizes these are two countries that are at war and have been for a long time because of his predecessor's weakness and incompetence,' she added.
