- WIADOMOŚCI
How the student surpassed the master: Changes in Western training for Ukrainian soldiers
Ukrainian soldiers have been undergoing regular training in the West for many years. As the war continues, Ukrainian experience is broadening in parallel. As it turns out, NATO instructors have begun to step back from training Ukrainian soldiers in drone operations.
According to Business Insider, Ukrainian drone operating skills surpass the competence of NATO instructors. Operation Legio, led by Norway at Camp Jomsborg in south-eastern Poland, was cited as an example. The initiative focuses on basic combat preparation, infantry tactics, and trench warfare.
Drone piloting and electronic warfare training were deliberately omitted from the programme. “They have excellent drone training and education, and electronic warfare education. They can fix that themselves. So that hasn’t been a request from the Ukrainians,” said Major John, the head of the training mission cited by BI (who, for security reasons, requested that only his first name be used).
When preparing the training, the combat experience of Ukrainian soldiers is taken into account, while Ukrainian instructors collaborate with trainers from allied nations, specifically Estonia, Finland, and Sweden. “At the training camp, Ukrainian instructors are always there to act as subject matter experts on drones and electronic warfare and share how Russia and Ukraine use and don’t use these capabilities,” Brigadier Atle Molde, commander of Task Force Legio, told BI.
Ukraine is rightly seen as a source of valuable lessons and experience in modern warfare. As Molde pointed out, observations from Ukraine show the need for allies to rebuild electronic warfare capabilities, which have not been sufficiently focused on since the end of the war.
