Russia’s “drone” war against Ukraine is changing the doctrine of modern armed forces – experts at the forum in Bucharest

The mass use of unmanned systems in Russia’s war against Ukraine means not merely a technological evolution but a profound change in the logic of warfare, for which most European countries are not yet ready, participants in the panel “The Russia–Ukraine Drone War: Innovation on the Front Line and Beyond. What Can We Learn for Our Own Defense?” said at the forum on Ukraine’s reconstruction in Bucharest.

Panel VIa was moderated by Greg Melcher, chief operating officer of the New Generation Warfare Centre (USA). The discussion featured Andrii Sirko-Halushchenko, an expert in UAV development for military applications; Terry Jamison, international director for vertical take-off and landing aircraft at Boeing; Mustafa Nayyem, director of public communications at GTX; Nicolae Ciucă, former prime minister of Romania and retired general; and Iulian Berdilă, a lieutenant general and deputy chief of the general staff for operations and training.

According to the speakers, what until recently was perceived as a “distant technological horizon” has already become everyday operational reality. The development of unmanned systems and open architectures, and the rapid integration of new capabilities, show that the “future of war” has arrived much earlier than many Western players expected. Ukraine’s combat experience has shown that accelerated innovation cycles lead to a structural transformation in the planning of air, land and joint operations.

The participants stressed that the combined use of crewed and uncrewed platforms, along with immediate technical interoperability between them, is becoming a basic requirement for adapting modern armed forces. Drones are already systematically used for reconnaissance, precision strikes, logistics, mine-laying and demining, adjusting artillery fire, and supporting special operations. Massed coordinated attacks on critical infrastructure have demonstrated the limits of purely reactive defense and made neutralizing threats “at the source” a pressing need.

In parallel, counter-drone systems are developing rapidly, combining existing surveillance and electronic warfare assets with new solutions for countering a large number of small, low-altitude targets. “This is no longer an occasional tool but a full-fledged layer of the modern battlefield, which requires its own doctrine, forces and assets,” Berdilă noted.

A separate emphasis in the discussion was placed on Europe’s vulnerability to hybrid forms of aggression. In the experts’ view, traditional threat assessments do not match the reality in which the adversary acts mainly through asymmetric, dispersed methods that are difficult to attribute. Incidents of unidentified drones appearing near critical infrastructure in various European countries, they said, expose a gap between public perception, the level of institutional preparedness and the actual nature of the risks.

As a result of the discussion, the participants concluded that the “drone” war is not only a matter of technology but also a challenge for institutional capacity and defense planning. Adapting to the new operating environment requires flexible institutions, short innovation cycles, coordinated investment and a doctrine capable of quickly integrating the lessons of the Ukrainian experience. Modern war, they stressed, has become a space where speed of adaptation, systems integration and simultaneous readiness for offensive and defensive action are key elements of strategic resilience.

The forum “Rebuilding Ukraine: Security, Opportunities, Investments” takes place on December 11–12 in Bucharest under the auspices of the foreign ministries of Romania and Ukraine and is organized by the New Strategy Center. According to the organizers, more than 30 panel discussions and parallel sessions are planned over the two days, with the participation of representatives of governments, international organizations, the private sector, financial institutions and experts from Europe, North America and Asia. The panel topics cover security and defense, infrastructure, financing and investment, “green” energy, digitalization, human capital and cross-border cooperation.

The Interfax-Ukraine news agency is the media partner of the event.