Ukraine creates a branch of its armed forces specific to drone warfare
Ukraine has added a branch to its armed forces dedicated to drones, a sign of the growing importance of uncrewed aerial vehicles to modern warfare.
Ukraine has added a branch to its armed forces dedicated to drones, a sign of the growing importance of uncrewed aerial vehicles to modern warfare.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of the Unmanned Systems Forces in a video message addressed to his country Tuesday. He said the new branch would improve coordination, planning and logistics as the country continues its war with Russia.
“Drones — unmanned systems — have proven their effectiveness in battles on land, in the sky and at sea. Ukraine has truly changed the security situation in the Black Sea with the help of drones,” Zelenskyy said, according to an English translation of his remarks posted on Ukraine’s official website.
Creating a military service specific to drones is unusual, even though the U.S., Israel and other countries have been using drones in combat for decades. In the U.S. government, drone fighter groups are divided among various services and agencies, including the Army, the Air Force and the CIA.
But in recent years, uncrewed vehicles have begun to play a larger role in conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war and Yemen’s civil war. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have used drone and missile attacks to target shipping in the Red Sea and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
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