Embracing drones as the key to warfare is a mistake. Think about what the Army needs to do and not what the Ukrainians and Russians need to do in the conditions of their war.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine could lead us astray in how to transform the Army:
Succeeding on the future battlefield does not necessitate the blind acceptance of new technologies and concepts, but rather a consideration of which innovation response leverages the state’s advantages and mitigates its strategic limitations. Seeking to counter recent drone innovations will provide the US Army with the capabilities to restore its asymmetric advantage on the battlefield—rapid maneuver, sustained by a high operational tempo and massed armored penetration forces.
In my November Army article I looked at the World War I Western Front and advised that we not be hasty in drawing lessons for the Army based on the importance of small FPV drones to both sides in the specific environment of the Winter War of 2022:
If World War I is any guide for Army transformation, there will be no silver bullet to restore maneuver capabilities. The Army must integrate weapons and systems designed to cope with the Russia-Ukraine war stalemate and develop tactics and procedures for combined arms operations exploiting new capabilities—some not yet developed.
Learn from the war--don't just blindly copy it.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. It's the right thing to do!
NOTE: I submitted my article back in the spring and I tensely waited for publication in the November issue that coincides with the end of World War I.
