Ukrainian Drone Teams Beat NATO Units in Multiple Exercises

Ukrainian drone teams defeated NATO units in multiple exercises, including a naval drill off Portugal and maneuvers in Sweden. In the Portuguese exercise, a Ukraine-led red team prevailed in all five simulated scenarios. In Sweden, Ukrainian pilots repeatedly overwhelmed Swedish troops, forcing pauses while the Swedes revised tactics.

Davyd Aloian, deputy secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said the advantage stems from practical experience. "They always demolish the Russians on the front line. So they have this experience," he said at a drone summit in Latvia.

Tarja Jaakkola, NATO's assistant secretary general for defense industry, innovation, and armaments, said the outcomes were expected. " NATO has incorporated Ukrainian units into exercises to expose allied forces to current drone tactics. Adm.

Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of NATO's military committee, said in April that Ukrainian personnel are frequently assigned as the opposing red team to train NATO units in defending against drone attacks. Gen. Michael Claesson, Sweden's chief of defense, told the Associated Press that Western forces must "learn rapidly" how to conduct drone and counter-drone operations and that the "fastest" way is to listen to the Ukrainians.

Carsten Breuer, Germany's chief of defense, said at the Latvia summit that Ukraine's victories were unsurprising and that he welcomed the chance to identify NATO shortfalls. "I think it's clear that there's a steep learning curve for us," he said. Adm.

Pierre Vandier, head of NATO Allied Command Transformation, said in March that training must become harder and more realistic. "We therefore need to rebuild the training machine — making it harder, more realistic, and more demanding, because training must be the place where we can fail, learn, and adapt before war forces us to," he said.