Armed conflicts have changed forever. The Ukrainian war has shown the importance of dominating in the air with swarms of drones with coordinated attacks, shooting down their enemies and participating in rescue operations.
Ukraine has learned that the best attack is often a good defense. It cannot compete in the air with the low-cost kamikaze drones used by the Kremlin army.
The kyiv army faces a new problem. Ukraine has managed to accelerate drone manufacturing to the maximum, but They have to train their soldiers so that they can operate them on the battlefield.
More and more powerful drones
The war in Ukraine is the testing ground for drones that shoot with artificial intelligence and others that break all speed and autonomy records. This has a cost for the armies, the training of troops is increasingly complex.
Ukrainian troops have confirmed to the British Army that soldiers cannot operate the drones until they become familiar with flying. The average time is 60 hours, the minimum requirement for a pilot to operate safely.
Ben Irwin-Clark, commander of the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards, has confirmed to Business Insider that the ukrainians They need at least 30 hours in a simulator and 30 hours of actual flight in the field.
If they complete the training of about 60 hours, «they are quite competent in flying different types of drones,» he confirms. Pilots continue to improve as they participate in new missions. «It’s an upward curve in terms of your skill level,» according to Irwin-Clark, assuring that it is a matter of practice.
Ukraine is an expert in pilot training
The Ukrainian army has been forced to reinvent itself to train soldiers to operate drones in record time. The UK has taken part in Operation Interflex alongside 13 other countries to train soldiers in Western and NATO-style combat.
Ukrainian soldiers with frontline experience have returned the favor to their allies. Ukraine is sending valuable information to NATO from drone operations in an area where he has little experience with these devices.
Western armies have experience in various conflicts, but have never fought one of the caliber of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with drones and advanced technology. NATO was used to heavy artillery and trench warfare, decades have passed since then.
The US Army has even adopted the Ukraine-style simulator training system for pilots. The soldiers They make the leap to real drones shortly after, saving operational costs.