Large-scale exercise in Estonia

Ukrainian drones wipe out entire NATO battalions

As has only now become known, Ukrainian forces "destroyed" a British brigade last year during a simulated NATO war exercise in Estonia, demonstrating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's "incapacity to fight." Image: Unmanned military combat drone(Bild: AP/Efrem Lukatsky)

During the large NATO exercise "Hedgehog 2025" in Estonia, involving more than 16,000 soldiers from twelve member states, Ukrainian drone teams surprisingly clearly put the alliance's defense doctrines to the test and even "destroyed" a British brigade.

In the scenario, in which Ukrainian specialists acted as "enemies," small groups of unmanned aerial vehicles and modern data processing systems were able to "detect" and "attack" the movements and equipment of NATO troops almost "without fail." 

The goal of the attacks: "cognitive overload."
According to Lieutenant Colonel Arbo Probal, head of the Estonian Armed Forces' unmanned systems program, the simulation involved a "contested and crowded" battlefield with various types of drones. The goal was to create "friction, stress, and cognitive overload as quickly as possible."

A small multicopter drone at the production facility of drone manufacturer Quantum Frontline Industries (QFI)(Bild: AFP/Alexandra BEIER / AFP)

More than 30 attacks
The tactic worked: within about twelve hours, the Ukrainian team, consisting of ten drone pilots, simulated the destruction of 17 armored, partly "uncamouflaged" vehicles and carried out more than 30 additional attacks.

As has only now become known, Ukrainian forces "destroyed" a British brigade last year during a simulated NATO war exercise in Estonia, demonstrating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's "inability to fight." Image: unmanned military combat drone(Bild: AP/Efrem Lukatsky)

A British brigade (a brigade usually comprises 2,000 to 8,000 soldiers from various battalions, note) and other NATO units were also deemed "incapable of fighting." The brigade was even "destroyed."

Artificial intelligence creates battle plans
The Ukrainians, who were deployed as the "enemy," used the "Delta" battlefield management system for their attacks. This system allows troops to gather information in real time and use artificial intelligence to coordinate attacks, identify targets, and analyze data.

The drills in Estonia "revealed the brutal reality," writes the Wall Street Journal. What happened during the exercise exposed "serious tactical shortcomings and weaknesses in high-intensity drone warfare." How NATO intends to counter this and adapt its defense strategy remains unclear.