A group of Ukrainian drone pilots, invited to teach Western military personnel how to win using drones, destroyed Swedish troops during the exercises, who served as the aggressor’s simulated target.
A 24-year-old drone pilot with the call sign Tarik shared details of the exercises with the AP.
“They stopped the training three times” for troops to figure out what to do better, but if it were real life, they would have been dead, the soldier says.
Swedish troops have potential, but they need to improve their drones and tactics, and commanders need a deeper understanding of combat operations using drones, according to another pilot with the call sign Karat.
He describes flying small strike drones with a first-person view on the front lines against Russian troops. According to him, drone pilots are sometimes supported by reconnaissance drone groups, but at other times they operate blindly.
The soldier adds that Western forces cannot understand how this works and need to see it with their own eyes.
According to Sweden’s Defense Minister Gen. Michael Claesson, all Western forces need to quickly learn how to conduct operations using drones and counter them, and the fastest way is to listen to the Ukrainians.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are serving as instructors for NATO forces during exercises, sharing their unique experience in countering drones.
Ukrainian drone operators also outmaneuvered British forces during exercises.