Division Commander: Drones are only a fraction of what Estonian defense must build
Developing drone capabilities is just a small part of what the defense sector needs, said Maj. Gen. Indrek Sirel, commander of the Estonian Defence Forces Division, about the recent Spring Storm exercise in Estonia.
According to Maj. Gen. Sirel, there are many more broader lessons, such as resilience, electronic warfare and deception operations.
"A drone is just one small part and only a fraction of what we must develop. A drone does not function without reliable communications — whether through a communications system or channel. It doesn't work without sufficient power supply, for example the ability to charge batteries. It won't operate without spare parts, and most importantly: it cannot function without a trained crew," Maj. Gen. Sirel said.
A total of 19 allied nations took part in the exercise, including Ukrainian officers and non-commissioned officers, who primarily advised Estonia's artillery units.
"Not everything in the world has been replaced by drones," the major general explained. "Artillery remains a key means for accomplishing very important tasks in combat. The tactics just need to change, and we must think about how to ensure the survivability of these systems."
He referred to lessons from the war in Ukraine, adding that, for example, establishing fortified positions for artillery is important.
Sirel said the defense forces can use the exercise to further develop drills at both the individual soldier and company levels.
"The common denominator is combat discipline — we need to work on that. The commander of the Defense Forces has already ordered that we carry out additional training in the second half of this year. The issues we have identified during Spring Storm can serve as a basis for what needs improvement," Sirel said.
During the exercise, a real air defense alert situation also occurred. On May 19, an unidentified drone entered Estonian airspace and was shot down by a Romanian fighter jet.
"This is a good example of how NATO as a whole is evolving and adapting to circumstances. You have to understand that this was a matter of minutes and seconds," Sirel said. "This is exactly how NATO must respond to similar incidents."
However, the division commander declined to speculate on whether the drone incident may have been deliberate influence activity by Russia.
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Editor: Märten Hallismaa, Argo Ideon
