At the Combined Resolve exercise in Germany this spring, Ukrainian drone operators faced US forces and reportedly detected and simulated strikes against American troops and armored vehicles so effectively that exercise controllers had to return “destroyed” units to the scenario to keep it running.

The lesson was not that American armor is obsolete, or that every battlefield will resemble Ukraine. It was that militaries built around yesterday’s assumptions can be exposed quickly by inexpensive drones, skilled operators, and tactics that evolve faster than procurement systems. The encouraging part is that the US force adapted during the exercise, improving dispersion, camouflage, and its use of electronic warfare. The warning is that such lessons are best learned in training, not after soldiers and armored vehicles have been exposed in combat.

Israel should take notice. So should the United States. Both are technologically advanced militaries with exceptional high-end capabilities. Both now face a world in which cheap, expendable drones can find forces, expose armor, strain defenses, and impose costs far beyond their price.

Israel helped pioneer military drone warfare. It now needs to adapt again—quickly and at scale. It needs a force able to find and disrupt threats before they strike, and a layered shield to detect and defeat incoming drones before they reach their targets.

Ukraine’s hard lesson

Ukraine’s experience offers the clearest evidence of how thoroughly drones have changed the battlefield.

Far from the front, Ukrainian drones have forced Russia to protect infrastructure, move equipment, disperse military assets, and devote resources to defending areas it once regarded as safely beyond Ukraine’s reach.

At the front, reconnaissance drones spot assault forces, vehicles, and supply movements before they reach Ukrainian positions. FPV and other attack drones can disrupt attacks, damage vehicles, and force attacking troops to move more slowly and cautiously.

Drones have not replaced infantry, artillery, intelligence, electronic warfare, or capable command. They have made each of them more effective. For an outnumbered force, that can mean the difference between holding a position and giving it up.

Ukraine’s other advantage has been its pace. A soldier reports a failure or a new enemy tactic. A small team changes the design. The revised system goes back to the field.

Israel does not face Ukraine’s war, and should not pretend it does. Israel’s small geography means that threats launched near its borders can reach civilians, bases, and critical sites within minutes. Long-range threats from Yemen and Iran add a separate challenge. But the lesson is clear: the military that learns and adapts fastest gains an advantage.

Iran and the armed groups it arms and supports have demonstrated the other side of the same problem. Cheap drones can travel far, arrive........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)