RIGA, Latvia — As Western nations ramp up investments in drone warfare, lessons from the front lines in Ukraine suggest that traditional military infrastructure may be dangerously outdated. Ukrainian defense officials and industry leaders are now urging allies to adopt a strategy of extreme mobility, dispersal, and subterranean operations to survive in an environment where drone units are high-value targets.
Taras Berezovets, head of the military cooperation department of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, described the conflict as a constant “cat-and-mouse game.” Because Russian forces actively hunt for the locations of Ukrainian drone units, Ukraine’s standard practice is to relocate operations frequently to avoid detection. Berezovets, speaking at a drone summit in Latvia, emphasized that command and training centers must be situated “as deep as possible” underground to mitigate the threat of strikes.
The stakes are significant. Ukrainian officials report that drones are responsible for 90% of Russia’s front-line losses, making the facilities that coordinate these strikes primary targets. The personnel operating these systems are specifically targeted; Berezovets noted that drone pilots are considered “the primary targets for Russian units,” with efforts made to strike leadership across the chain of command.
A Shift in Military Doctrine
The reliance on large, static command centers—a hallmark of Western military operations for the last 35 years—is increasingly viewed as a liability. Sir John Stringer, NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, noted that the model of the “big single air operation center” is no longer viable in the current conflict landscape. While moving toward a more distributed force structure presents significant logistical, communication, and coordination challenges, it is becoming a necessity for survival.
This shift extends to defense manufacturing. Industry leaders are cautioning against the creation of “gigafactories,” arguing that centralized production sites are vulnerable. Achi, the CEO of the Ukrainian defense firm Ark Robotics, noted that his company intentionally fragments manufacturing across independent sites to ensure flexibility and security. Similarly, Karmo Saar, head of sales for the Estonian drone manufacturer Krattworks, observed that major Ukrainian producers often maintain more than 15 separate production sites to minimize risk.
Future Implications
The adaptation of these tactics for NATO members may prove difficult. Berezovets pointed out that smaller NATO nations have less geographic depth than Ukraine, which complicates the ability to frequently relocate units. If Western militaries move to implement these changes, they could face complex hurdles regarding cross-border logistics and the integration of mobile, vehicle-based command systems.
As the defense industry moves forward, analysts suggest that the “long-term lesson” is a move away from centralized, large-scale facilities in favor of discreet, dispersed, and hardened sites. Without such changes, industry experts warn that Western defense infrastructure may find itself ill-prepared for the realities of modern, drone-heavy warfare.
