Russia's drone warfare advances challenge NATO defences
Russia appears to be employing technological innovations developed during its war in Ukraine directly against NATO countries, according to an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Analysts believe that, throughout the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, Russia has developed and enhanced its capabilities in the field of drones, including their resistance to electronic warfare (EW) and its own EW capabilities.
"NATO and its member states have increasingly raised alarms about Russian acts of sabotage and hybrid operations targeting NATO members throughout 2024. Reports that one of the NATO member states is struggling to counter what are likely Russian reconnaissance drones emphasise the need for further development of NATO countries' defence capabilities, as Russia continues to apply its battlefield experience in Ukraine to create new technologies," the report states.
Drone forces are the future of the army
At the beginning of February, Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that drone forces are the future of the Polish army.
During the annual evaluation and task briefing, the minister noted, among other things, that the Ministry of National Defence is formulating new military components, including drone forces which, he assessed, are the future of "all types of armed forces" and "there will be tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of drones in all types of armed forces".
- The strategy for creating drone forces involves system integration, training all types of troops, and equipping them with drones, both flying ones and those for land, surface, and underwater, across all types of armed forces. Both state-owned and private companies are needed, ready to produce tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of drones under long-term contracts with the military when the need arises - the defence minister said.
Summarising the previous year, Kosiniak-Kamysz highlighted, among other things, the formation of new military units, especially the Territorial Defence Forces, and stated that reports of units being dismantled "turned out to be utter nonsense" and "the best proof is investments in new tactical formations, creating new brigades".
He also pointed out that the army's numbers increased by approximately 14,000 soldiers, and as of 1st January, 206,000 soldiers served in the Polish military: professional soldiers, those in voluntary basic military service, territorial military service, and active reserve; the number of professional soldiers increased by about 10,000, reaching 144,000 as of 1st January.
source: ISW / PAP
