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Ukrainian Drone Operators Crushed NATO Troops During Exercises. Here’s How
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Ukrainian military units have shared new details about how a small team of drone operators outperformed a larger NATO formation during multinational exercises in Estonia, offering insight into the tactics behind what Western media previously described as a striking outcome.
According to The Wall Street Journal on September 2, a Ukrainian team participating in the Hedgehog exercise in Estonia simulated the destruction of multiple armored vehicles and struck dozens of targets while playing the role of an opposing force.
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The publication reported that a group of around ten Ukrainian drone operators, acting as a mock adversary, managed within half a day to simulate the destruction of 17 armored vehicles and conduct roughly 30 additional strikes.
In recent statements published by Ukrainian Defense Forces units on Facebook, the servicemembers involved explained how they conducted the operation and what, in their assessment, contributed to the result described by The Wall Street Journal.
The Ukrainian contingent included bomber drone operators from the 412th Nemesis Brigade and FPV drone crews from the 427th Rarog Brigade, both operating under the Unmanned Systems Forces. Operators from the International Legion of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine and representatives of the Delta situational awareness system also took part.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the NATO-side scenario involved a formation of several thousand troops, including a British brigade and an Estonian division conducting an offensive operation.
A fighter from the 412th Nemesis Brigade, callsign “Nick,” said the Ukrainian team was tasked with striking simulated enemy forces, mining logistical routes, and delivering supplies to friendly units.
Enemy movements were identified by aerial reconnaissance crews using the Vector system, according to the Ukrainian units’ joint publication. “The Ukrainian team defeated the assault groups, which were not prepared for mass strikes using various UAV systems,” the servicemember said.
Ukrainian operators pointed to several vulnerabilities in the mock NATO formation’s approach. According to their account, armored vehicles moved in large columns without sufficient concealment, infantry units did not attempt to disperse or hide effectively, and routes were not checked for potential mining before movement.
The Wall Street Journal described the exercise outcome as “terrible” for NATO forces, noting that troops were reportedly unable to detect the positions of the Ukrainian drone operators during the scenario.
The newspaper reported that the exercise took place in May and was designed to test readiness and interoperability among allied forces. In one of the scenarios, the Ukrainian team’s use of massed drone strikes significantly disrupted the simulated offensive.
In their statement, Ukrainian units emphasized that battlefield technologies have fundamentally changed modern warfare and said they are prepared to share their experience in drone warfare with Western partners.
“Technologies have fundamentally changed and continue to change the battlefield. Ukrainian units are ready to share the accumulated experience of drone warfare with Western partners,” the units said in their publication.
They added that Ukraine is “maximally interested in rethinking modern combat tactics as quickly and effectively as possible and preparing for the Russian threat.”
Earlier, Representatives of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre (JATEC) participated in the Red Hyena 45 strategic war game in the United Kingdom, contributing Ukrainian battlefield experience to inform elements of NATO’s long-term policy toward Russia.
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