Western militaries learn lessons about modern warfare through the they provide training to Ukrainian troopsBut a NATO commander says they must distinguish between what Ukraine does because it works, and what it does because it had no better choice.
Norway is leading Operation Legio, a multinational effort to train Ukrainian soldiers at Camp Jomsborg, a purpose-built training camp in Poland. There, Ukrainian troops and instructors with battlefield experience work together with Western trainers.
Through its work with the Ukrainians, so is Norway collect information on tactics and equipment to bring back to one’s own army for consideration.
Brigadier General Atle Molde, the commander who oversaw Task Force Legio told Business Insider that the camp could be “the most important sensor for information” for Norway because, like other NATO allies, it wants to learn from Ukraine amid concerns that Russian aggression could one day overrun NATO’s borders.
But he warned that Norway cannot copy everything Ukraine does without scrutinizing it. “We learn from the Ukrainians every day,” Molde said. “But when you learn from the Ukrainian war, it is very important that you understand what you hear and see. And that takes quite a bit of context, experience and knowledge about what you see.”
Norway needs to understand whether Ukraine uses certain equipment or tactics because they are truly innovative, or because ‘it is the last option’, because ‘it is the last choice they have’.
Molde said he believes that some of Ukraine’s actions are indeed being carried out “because they have no choice.”
Allies want to learn from Ukraine’s new weapons and tactics, but also ensure they learn the right lessons. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
During the course of the war, Ukraine did the same innovative new weapons developedand those innovations have had an impact NATO training, tactics and weapons purchases. But the distinction Molde makes is important, especially when it comes to drones.
Ukraine deploys millions of drones of different types and carries out countless missions, from surveillance to logistics and attacks. It has built cheap mass and developed a host of crucial skills and tactics that could help shape doctrine for years to come. But much of this progress came from a lack of artillery, aircraft and other weapons that NATO has in its arsenal but Ukraine does not.
Molde said “people often draw conclusions” from seeing videos of drone strikes on social media, leading them to see drones as “a silver bullet that solves everything.” But he said, “It’s not.” They are just another tool.
Some people see drones as “a kind of hallelujah in the West,” Molde said. But adopting that mentality could lead an army to make the mistake of preparing for the last war instead of the next.
He said a Ukrainian general once warned him, saying that “your war with Russia, if it comes, would not be like our war with Russia. That’s something I’m thinking about.”
“We cannot take everything the Ukrainians do and just apply it to our context,” Molde said. “Then we’ll miss.” Instead, “we have to be very, very specific,” he said.
A different kind of war
Drones have been a game changer for Ukraine, with officials saying they cause 90% of Russia’s frontline losses. But they didn’t victory assuredand war analysts echo Molde’s warnings to Western armies should be careful about the lessons they draw from Ukraine’s success in this area.
Ukrainian soldiers are trained in a specially built camp in Poland. Torbjørn Kjosvold / Forsvaret
Justin Bronk, an air force expert at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute, previously warned that Ukraine’s “over-reliance” on drones is driven by shortages and “is not something that Western militaries should try to copy.”
Jakub Jajcay, a former Slovak special forces soldier who fought in Ukraine, previously told Business Insider drone operators often knew they were using the wrong weapons for their job. Western militaries, which have more time and resources, should prevent drones from becoming a substitute for weapons such as artillery, when the latter is a better choice, he said.
And like Norway, other Western militaries are keeping these warnings in mind.
Maj. Rachel Martin, the director of the U.S. Army’s Unmanned Advanced Lethality Course, previously told BI that Ukrainians are “in a fight for their lives” and are “using what they have at their disposal because they don’t have the layered resources that we are fortunate to have in our country.” That influences how soldiers think about drones.
Perhaps most importantly, as Ukrainian General Molde warned, a potential war between NATO and Russia would likely look very different from the one in Ukraine. ‘Air Force, not really play a substantial role in the Ukrainian war,” Molde said. “Will it be the same if we saw a conflict between NATO and Russia? Probably not.”
“It would be completely different,” he said.
In Ukraine, neither side has been able to do this safe control of the air, creating a war of attrition that relied heavily on drones. Terrain is also important. Eastern Ukraine is down, and “that means something,” Molde said, explaining that Russia would have to approach the fight on NATO soil differently.
Norway is learning
That said, there are still lessons to be learned from the experiences of Ukrainian troops. Molde said working at Camp Jomsborg allows Norway to obtain knowledge and information and then assess it through its institutions, such as the Land Warfare Center.
He said Norway is “pulling out all the stops we can”.
Allies view Ukraine as a leader in some areas of modern warfare, and crucial to work with and learn from. Roman Chop/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Major John, the S3 Operations Officer responsible for synchronizing the overall training operation, told Business Insider at the training camp that “we are trying to learn from the Ukrainians to improve the training here, but also to take some of those experiences back to our own forces.” For security reasons, he asked to be identified only by his first name.
John said Ukraine and the Western militaries involved in the training are “challenging each other.” The Ukrainians have the experience and ‘the highest understanding of the new technologies’, while Western instructors have decades of reliable doctrine and best practices.
Allies learn from Ukraine’s strengths: “I think this has been a very important part of the training mission,” he said.
