How to train a drone warrior, with lessons from Ukraine

It's not enough for every soldier to fly or counter drones. Drone units should be taught to innovate and act almost like high-performance start-ups.

- Michael Raska

Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing recently announced that from July 2025, every recruit entering Basic Military Training will learn to operate drones and counter drone threats.

It seems that lessons drawn from the ongoing war in Ukraine are being taken on board as it has shown how drones are redefining the direction and character of modern warfare.

But the same war has also revealed a deeper, more fundamental strategic challenge for advanced militaries, including the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF): the critical need to cultivate creativity. Ukraine's drone units have their own "league table". Russia has learnt to hit back on an industrial scale. What can Singapore learn from this?

While training every SAF soldier to fly or counter drones is undeniably valuable, that alone will not be the gamechanger. Instead, SAF will need to nurture units that are capable of sustained tactical and operational innovation.

The Ukraine war is showing that it's not just the technology, but also how creatively it is used, that shapes outcomes on the battlefield. Initially, drones were viewed merely as tactical support tools, enhancing traditional reconnaissance and artillery functions. Yet Ukrainian soldiers gradually discovered drones' immense potential to offset Russia's superiority in manpower, armour and artillery through precision, agility and innovation.

Small, agile drone units like the renowned Nemesis Regiment and Magyar's Birds, officially known as the 412th and 414th Separate Regiment of Strike Unmanned Aerial Systems, have fundamentally reshaped tactical engagements, transforming frontline operations into iterations of constant experimentation and adaptation.

These units deliberately recruit younger personnel, tech-savvy individuals, gamers, civilian technologists and software developers, who naturally challenge conventional thinking and can rapidly design, adapt and repurpose commercial technologies for combat scenarios.