“The US innovates, China replicates, Europe regulates” – Unknown author. In the Swedish part of the military “Twitterverse,” there is a continuous debate about whether smaller remotely piloted aerial systems (RPAS) should be considered ammunition or at…
Författararkiv: Michael Winberg
Unmanned warfare in Ukraine – What to expect during 2025
Like in previous years, this year has shown the potential of unmanned systems on the battlefield. The war in Ukraine has also shown us that there is still a lot of potential to be uncovered in unmanned warfare. With unmanned warfare, I am not only refe…
Winter is coming. What to think about conducting drone operations in cold weather.
As the first snow has started to fall in Ukraine, writing something about drone operations in cold weather seems fitting. This article will highlight some challenges of operating class I[1] unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in cold weather, predominantly c…
Dispersed UAV operations – a possible future path for Sweden
Sweden has a long and proud history of building and maintaining an air force capable of dispersed operations. Launching fighter jets from hidden bases using ordinary roads has been considered critical to surviving in a war against an enemy that outnumb…
The forgotten I in ISR and the challenges it presents with Unmanned Systems
Drones and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) have, since “the First Drone Age”[1], become intertwined. In some instances, ISR is used as a synonym for remotely piloted aerial systems using an electro-optical payload, and the military-…
Unmanned systems in Kursk – Shaping the Battlespace and denying the enemy access
The Ukrainian offensive into Kursk Oblast has taken many by surprise, especially the Russians. Not only because the operation was daring but also because it may have shown that it is still possible to surprise an adversary on an otherwise transparent b…
The evolution of unmanned systems in Ukraine
Although drones are on everyone’s lips, and some think that small unmanned aerial systems will lose their advantage soon[1], a lot is still happening regarding technical development and the evolution of tactical procedures that a modern military needs …
Unmanned systems are more than just a “thing.”
The war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and the swift victory by the Azeri military, largely thanks to loitering munitions and tactical UAVs, put the spotlight on how unmanned aerial systems (UAS) could help win not only batt…
Personnel Recovery and Unmanned Systems – Some examples from Ukraine
When I was writing my article[1] about unmanned systems and personnel recovery during the summer of 2021, I couldn’t imagine that we, not even a year later, would experience a war between states in Europe – in particular, being able to witness the use …