The future of war is already here, Britain still hasn’t built the force to fight it, defence experts warn
Britain urged to create dedicated Drone Force as Ukraine war reshapes the modern battlefield
Britain must urgently establish a dedicated Drone Force or risk falling behind the realities of modern warfare, a leading UK-Ukraine defence figure has warned.
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Writing exclusively for LBC Opinion, Andriy Dovbenko, Principal of UK-Ukraine TechExchange, said the war in Ukraine has fundamentally reshaped how conflicts are fought, with drones now sitting at the centre of the battlefield rather than at its margins.
He argues that while the UK has made progress in funding and developing drone and counter-drone technologies, it still lacks the structure needed to turn that progress into a coherent fighting capability.
“Drones are not a supporting feature of modern war. They are one of its defining conditions,” Dovbenko said.
He points to how rapidly Ukraine’s doctrine has evolved since 2022, when its field regulations still relied on helicopters for artillery spotting, a concept that now appears outdated. Today, drones are used continuously to monitor movement, guide strikes, hunt armour and shape the battlefield in real time.
That shift, he says, has dramatically expanded the danger zone for troops. On some parts of the front line, the so-called “kill zone” now stretches up to 30 kilometres, with forces exposed to detection and attack long before reaching traditional points of contact.
“The front is no longer just a line of trenches or guns. It is a deep belt of observation, targeting and destruction,” he writes.
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Electronic warfare has become central to that fight, with signals routinely jammed and navigation systems disrupted. While many drones are lost before reaching their targets, this has driven rapid innovation, forcing both sides to produce cheaper, more adaptable systems and constantly refine their tactics.
Dovbenko argues that Britain has far fewer excuses for not adapting at a similar pace.
The government’s Strategic Defence Review has already acknowledged the need for a future force shaped by drones, data and digital warfare, while UK Defence Innovation has committed more than £142 million to drone and counter-drone technology.
The UK has also deepened cooperation with Ukraine on unmanned systems, electronic warfare and infrastructure protection.
But he warns that these efforts remain fragmented. “Progress is not yet the same thing as structure,” he writes, arguing that without a single command responsible for drones, electronic warfare and rapid adaptation, the UK risks falling behind despite its investment.
In a 2025 paper for the Royal United Services Institute, air power specialist Justin Bronk warned that the UK must invest more heavily in signals analysis and mission-data programming to keep pace with rapidly evolving digital threats.
He noted that while Britain retains “world-class” expertise in these areas, including through specialist centres supporting the RAF’s Typhoon fleet, those capabilities are under pressure and require sustained investment.
More broadly, he warns that NATO remains heavily reliant on the United States for key aspects of airborne electronic warfare, with no true European equivalent to capabilities such as the US Navy’s Growler force.
“A drone force without that backbone is just a procurement headline,” he told LBC.
Dovbenko argues that the public debate still underestimates the scale of the shift, with drones often viewed simply as weapons or surveillance tools rather than part of a much wider system involving software, data, engineers, analysts and command structures.
He says a dedicated Drone Force would bring those elements together, creating a command focused on low-cost mass production, rapid software updates, electronic warfare, counter-drone defence and the ability to move lessons from development to the frontline at speed.
It would also provide a clear career path for specialists and a single institution for ministers to support and hold accountable.
RAF Regiment personnel have already operated in contested drone environments in the Middle East, using a combination of early warning, electronic warfare and air defence to counter Iranian threats.
For Dovbenko, the lesson is clear. Britain is already operating in the age of drones, but has yet to fully organise itself for it.
“Ukraine has learned how to fight in a world where drones are everywhere, where electronic warfare is constant and where adaptation is part of the daily routine,” he writes.
“Britain keeps discussing these things as though they belong to the future. They do not. They belong to the present.”
He said that the UK still has time to act before being forced to learn the same lessons under pressure, but warns that window may not remain open indefinitely.
“The Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary and the chiefs of staff should stop treating drones as an adjunct to existing power and start treating them as a central fact of modern war,” he writes.
“Create a Drone Force. Build it now, while the lesson is still one we can study rather than one we are forced to live through.”