Close

Ukraine's Drone Ecosystem and the Defence of Europe: Lessons Lost Can't be Learned

by Jon-Wyatt Matlack, Sebastian Schwartz and Oliver Gill

SchwartzSebastian

Author

Sebastian Schwartz

Author

Oliver G

Author

Oliver Gill

Author

Matlack

Jon-Wyatt Matlack

Author

"'At every level of command', the organisation of UAV forces intends to serve one goal: 'to preserve the lives of our soldiers'"
"Drone schools therefore serve as a vital pipeline between not just the military and society in the broadest sense, but also between units and individuals."

Ukraine’s unique capabilities in drone warfare have significantly contributed to halting the largest land invasion in Europe since 1945. Given the looming threat of escalation on its eastern flank, NATO allies have a problem: falling short in understanding Ukraine’s drone ecosystem risks abdicating the strategic momentum in drone warfare to Russia and its allies. Through primary interviews with military, government, and civilian actors, we argue that the core characteristics of this ecosystem represent lessons to be learned themselves. Unfolding across the categories of speed, scale, and urgency, we recommend to NATO allies three policy proposals stemming from our analysis: the establishment of an institutionalised joint venture system for defence technologies, a systematic civil-military liaison structure, and the commitment to binding defence contracts in exchange for soliciting Ukrainian drone expertise. We conclude by pointing towards the sober truth: NATO countries cannot learn the lessons from Ukraine’s drone ecosystem if they concede to Russia’s strategic goals. 

Read Here

 

Meet the Authors

Jon-Wyatt Matlack is a PhD candidate at the University of Regensburg and former Anthony Smith Fellow at LSE IDEAS, completing a dissertation on corps-level training exercises of the German and U.S. armies in the Cold War. Jack is also an associate researcher at the Leibniz Science Campus Regensburg and affiliate of the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies. He publishes essays and policy papers concerning strategic communication of the U.S. Navy, Russian training exercises, and Ukraine’s drone warfare ecosystem. His latest book is Sovereignty through Practice (Routledge: 2025).

 

Sebastian Schwartz is an independent researcher specializing in the role of technology in peace and conflict studies. His previous publications investigate dual-use aspects in the development of autonomous systems and the role of unmanned systems in maritime security. Working in the private sector as an AI expert, his research interests lie in autonomous systems, unmanned systems, human-machine teaming, the automation of war, and the social impact of autonomous systems.

 

Oliver Gill is Programmes Manager and Researcher at LSE IDEAS where he delivers a portfolio of capacity building programmes for partner institutions and government in international relations, foreign policy, and diplomacy. After completing a master’s in international relations at King’s College London with a focus on information warfare and AI, his research now focuses on Black Sea maritime security, Ukrainian defence innovation, information and influence operations, and emerging and disruptive technologies’ impact on security.

 


 

Share

"It is the ecosystem comprising the military, volunteers, NGOs, drone schools - in short, ‘the crew’ - that produces results."
"Precisely this decentralised dispersion of people amounts to the vertically and horizontally diverse character of Ukraine’s drone ecosystem"