Numerous wars that have occurred in Russia and Ukraine throughout the years provide a fair illustration of the effectiveness of drones in combat. Although the use of drones in military conflict has been demonstrated in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia and in the Middle East, many of the adversaries on these battlefields lack effective air defense systems, making comparisons of the effectiveness of drones between superpowers where both sides have strong air defense systems inaccurate. Since the Soviet era, the Soviet army has understood that its air power is simply incapable of seizing air supremacy with the United States in a head-on confrontation.
Air defense systems, like the S-300 system that Slovakia sent to Kyiv last spring or the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System that the United States sent last October (bolstered by a recent US drawdown announcement), have helped Ukraine maintain an air defense network robust enough to prevent Russia from establishing air superiority.
Since January, Kyiv’s perennial calls for Western fighter jets have grown louder, too—and, at the G-7 summit in May, US President Joe Biden said that he would let Ukraine get its long-desired F-16 fighter jets. US NATO allies will supply their US-made F-16s to Ukraine, whose pilots will train in the United States and Europe. Attacks from the air caused heavy losses to the Russian army. In fact, the changes brought about by drones on the battlefield are not just that they provide users with a cheap air attack platform. Their emergence has fundamentally changed the rhythm and structure of the entire military operation.
During its operations against the Islamic State extremist organization in Iraq, the U.S. military discovered that the role of the MQ-9 in urban combat is not just as simple as a missile launch platform. Due to the numerous buildings in the city, it is actually difficult for traditional air and ground reconnaissance to dynamically grasp enemy intelligence.
However, drones are relatively slow and can provide more detailed battlefield pictures than other aircraft at low speeds and medium altitudes. They are connected to intelligence command centers far away from the battlefield through military data links. These video materials can also be enlarged and played in slow motion For analysis and judgment.
Compared with missile launch, dynamic real-time high-definition video transmission is the core function of various drones. Although this change sounds like just an enhanced version of past reconnaissance aircraft or other reconnaissance platforms, it has provided unexpected results in actual combat; that is, it has completely changed the rhythm of the battlefield.
In the Gulf War, the coalition had unparalleled air superiority, but the pace on the battlefield was still slow. The fundamental problem was that the long chain from reconnaissance to killing took a lot of time. In addition to being related to the technical level at the time, The lack of dynamic real-time high-definition image observation means is also key.
For example, after the coalition bombed a military base in Iraq, it needed to dispatch specialized aerial reconnaissance forces to evaluate the bombing effect to determine whether a second round of bombing was needed to ensure that the base facilities were completely paralyzed. Half a day has passed in this way, and after the drones are put into the battlefield on a large scale, the effect can be determined immediately after the bombing is completed.
If it is determined that another air strike is needed, a second wave of missiles can be sent out immediately, and even the drone itself can be detected. You can fire missiles and replenish your guns directly. According to the assessment of the US military, drones, as reconnaissance and surveillance platforms, actually greatly speed up the operation of the battlefield kill chain, making the advancement of war faster and more flexible than ever before.
In addition, drones can also complete attacks that conventional air and ground platforms could not complete in the past. For example, they can lock enemy targets on intertwined ground combat platforms and destroy them with low-lethal precision weapons.
Because drones are smaller and have a lower turning radius, they can even fly into tunnels or buildings to complete precise killings. This makes many past tactics to deal with air strikes ineffective, such as rapid ground advancement and close combat with enemy ground forces. , even if the opponent’s air force has an absolute advantage, it will resort to defensive weapons. This method becomes useless in drone warfare and may even lead to faster death.
Another huge advantage of drones is less logistical support. In the past, to obtain air support on the battlefield, it was necessary to establish a huge air base according to the combat radius of bombers or attack aircraft. Even a helicopter platform still needs the support of a forward base during operations. A stable base that can accommodate ammunition parts and meet the pilot’s living needs.
Of course, it also needs to be equipped with sufficient security forces to deal with enemy attacks. However, the deployment of drones may be more dispersed or even mobile, which not only reduces logistical pressure but also makes it very difficult for opponents to counterattack.
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