𝙊𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘿𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 - 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙫𝙨 𝘼𝙩𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
A common question is “What exactly are drones for?” Obviously with the massive amount of drone footage coming out of Ukraine, we see them being used primarily as weapons. FPV strikes, loitering munitions, reconnaissance drones that are often employed to destroy personnel, vehicles, and equipment while creating persistent surveillance and kill zones.
This is an attrition focused approach, which is to wear the enemy down over time through continuous pressure and cumulative losses.
The other way to view drones is in the maneuver warfare lens, which is that they’re not primarily weapons, they’re information gathering systems.
A key use for drones in the MW context would be to find an unguarded route around an enemy defense that will contribute more to victory than using that drone to score a single kill.
Maneuver warfare is largely objective driven, focused on capturing terrain, securing areas, gathering intelligence, conducting raids, and maintaining operational freedom.
The most effective drone enabled force is usually the one that uses them to improve awareness, coordination, and decision making rather than relying on them solely for lethal effects.
Drones shouldn’t replace maneuver, they should be used to enable maneuver. While this can be in the form of a sort of “armed overwatch,” and delivering a strike to cover the maneuver force, the primary focus of drones, especially in the context of the armed citizen, should be to see things first, understand first, decide first, and help you act first.
The force that does all of that will gain the initiative and control the battlespace
