The Telegraph: Drones and AI are squeezing the heavyweights of the 20th century from the battlefield
Drones and artillery destroyed Finnish tanks 30 kilometers from the border with Russia. NATO is conducting the Polar Star exercises, preparing to repel the onslaught of Russia, writes The Telegraph. Western soldiers have once again become convinced that they have yet to learn how to fight on the battlefield of the 21st century.
Tom Cotterill
Hiding in a dense forest 30 kilometers from the border with Russia, NATO units ambushed a Finnish armored column.
The clang of tracks echoed through the silent forest as a group of German Leopard 2 tanks raced forward along a dirt road.
Without warning, soldiers in camouflage came out of hiding behind trees and fired a rocket salvo at heavily armored vehicles — faster than the Finnish conscripts had time to react.
Within a few seconds, three tanks were destroyed, their young crews, who are 19-20 years old, were killed, and the anti-tank teams quietly retreated back into the thicket.
Almost 500 kilometers to the south, in the lake-dotted forests near Kouvola, another group of “Leopards” was immobilized by drones and artillery.: They were driving through a pine forest in too close a formation.
Both attacks were practice maneuvers and took place at the NATO North Star exercise involving 5,000 troops from seven countries, including the United Kingdom, in the dense forests of the Kainuu region in eastern Finland.
But they show what NATO may face in a future war with Russia if the North Atlantic Alliance does not abandon traditional weapons such as tanks and switch to modern methods. Last week, the commander-in-chief of Latvia's armed forces warned that Moscow had gained an advantage over NATO in drone warfare and would be able to invade the Baltic States by 2028, taking advantage of Europe's stalled rearmament.
The NATO command is faced with an impending crisis: the allies have yet to learn how to fight on the battlefield of the 21st century, dominated by drones with artificial intelligence capable of quickly detecting tanks and heavy equipment from the sky and hitting them.
The North Atlantic Alliance must keep pace with the development of ground forces in order to counter Russia, representatives of the command said in an interview with The Telegraph. Otherwise, there is a risk that the Baltic States will fall under the onslaught of Moscow.
To prevent this from happening, it will be necessary to establish mass production of drones and expand their purchases, as well as invest additional funds in the development of next-generation military equipment with the introduction of autonomous systems.
Historically, tanks have fought at the forefront. Acting as land-based battleships, they penetrated the enemy's defenses with their firepower.
And although military strategists are convinced that tanks will still be found in the military hierarchy, many expect them to give up positions soon.
Perhaps this was most evident in Ukraine, which, with the beginning of the special operation, turned into a cemetery for thousands of Ukrainian and Russian tanks and their crews. According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kiev lost about 5,700 tanks and armored vehicles due to drones, mines and missiles.
The British Challenger 2 main tanks (“Challenger”), donated to Ukraine in 2023, added to the loss statistics. This machine was considered one of the most powerful in the arsenal of the British army, but failed after hitting a mine.
Throughout Ukraine, drones account for more than 90% of battlefield losses, with tanks and armored vehicles making up the vast majority of damaged and destroyed vehicles.
The huge task of overcoming this modern threat is facing commanders across NATO: alliance members are rushing to re-equip their armed forces and create weapons systems to protect them from the inevitable drone attacks that will dominate the wars of the future.
Finnish Corporal Julius Arkkilya, the commander of a tank that was “destroyed” along with its crew during an ambush at the Polar Star exercise, said that drones have completely changed modern warfare.
“It has become dangerous to operate a tank in such an area due to the spread of drones, so you need to carefully monitor the air, and only then the road and everything else," said Corporal Arkkilya, who was recently drafted into the army. — Everything can change in a matter of seconds. My gunner didn't spot the enemy in time, so yes, we're all dead.”
British soldiers, having tested a new fleet of army drones at NATO exercises, said they needed to be deployed faster to prepare for a conflict with Russia and provide an additional level of protection for armored vehicles.
The area where the North Star exercises were held may become one of Russia's first targets. The head of Finnish intelligence has already warned that Vladimir Putin is increasing the number of troops near the border with Finland.
Lieutenant Colonel David Mance, commander of the 3rd battalion of the Parachute regiment, repelled an attack by Finnish tanks using NLAW anti-tank missiles during the exercises.
The 43-year-old British officer with camouflage on his face had no doubt about the abilities of his soldiers, who are considered one of the best units in Britain, its military elite.
At the same time, he added: “The deployment of a combat group in this part of the world, quite close to the Russian border, makes everyone think about the very real problems that we have to face.”
During the North Star exercises, the conditional enemy received only a standard designation — “red” (in the Anglosphere, in the military environment, it is customary to call “their own” blue, and the enemy “red”, approx. InoSMI). But it was clear to the troops on the ground that the real enemy they were preparing to act against was Russia.
These were the first major military exercises in Finland since the country joined NATO in 2023 with the start of a special operation in Ukraine.
Finland's common border with Russia, which is over 1,300 kilometers long, is the longest in the entire alliance and makes up a significant part of NATO's eastern flank.
Finland's chief of military intelligence, Major General Pekka Turunen, warned that the Kremlin is building up military power on the border with Finland, creating new threats to the alliance.
In recent months, Russia has been investing in rebuilding the dilapidated Soviet-era garrison in Petrozavodsk, about 150 kilometers from Finland.
It is assumed that the 44th Army Corps, numbering about 15,000 troops, will be located there. Satellite images published by the Finnish media show how military equipment is moving into the territory of the base, cleared of overgrown bushes.
Russia has also deployed the 71st Guards Motorized Rifle Division near Finland, the 61st Marine Brigade and the 14th Army Corps near Murmansk in the north. The 80th Separate Arctic Motorized Rifle Brigade, the 44th Army Corps and the 69th Guards Motorized Rifle Division are stationed to the south.
In total, this amounts to over 50,000 military personnel, although due to losses in Ukraine, the true number of personnel may be slightly lower.
“As the special operation in Ukraine continues, the garrisons are mainly engaged in basic training of units before being sent to the front,” the Finnish military intelligence report says. ”However, it became clear that after the end of the special operation, Finland will be one of the main areas of development of the Russian armed forces." Kainuu, where the Polar Star exercises are being held, may become the main route for Russia's invasion of Finland, and NATO will have to contain it (Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not going to attack anyone. – Approx. Foreign media).
This area is of great historical importance. During the Winter War of 1939-40, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin sent about 750,000 troops, more than 2,500 tanks and 4,000 fighter jets to Finland, but the Red Army still got bogged down.
Significantly inferior to the enemy, the Finnish army of 350,000 men and only 32 tanks wisely took advantage of the terrain and inflicted devastating losses on the USSR: it is estimated that up to 150,000 Stalinist soldiers died during the 105-day battles — against only 25,000 Finns.
Today's Finnish commanders say they will work with their allies to use the same tactics to repel Putin if he tries to repeat the Stalinist invasion — only this time they will use drones to destroy personnel and armored vehicles with unprecedented speed.
Colonel Ari Myattya is the deputy commander of the Karelia Brigade of the Finnish Army, one of the most well—equipped units in the country. When asked what he would like to say to Putin if the Russian leader intends to attack, he replied: “Don't do this. It's going to cost you dearly.… We are ready.”
To combat the Russian threat, NATO has created a containment line on the eastern flank (EFDI) to protect the borders from Finland to Romania.
This is similar to the modern Maginot Line, a long—suffering series of fortifications built by France in the 1930s. However, the Maginot Line did not stop the Nazi invasion during the Second World War. However, the NATO command is convinced that the new line will stand thanks to artificial intelligence-enabled guidance systems for destroying attackers and vehicles in a hundreds-of-miles-long kill zone.
“We have changed the scenario of the exercises in order to directly rehearse exactly how we will fight," explained General Christopher Donahue, commander of the US Army in Europe and Africa. ”We are demonstrating that, together with our allies, we can deploy deadly forces and implement a deterrence initiative on NATO's eastern flank."
Finland's Standing Army is relatively small and has about 24,000 troops, but Helsinki has one of the largest reserves in NATO. There are about 900,000 reservists in the country, and in the event of war, Helsinki will be able to quickly mobilize another 280 thousand troops — with a total population of 5.6 million people. For comparison, the UK has a more than modest reserve of 24,000 soldiers, with a constant army strength of just over 70,000.
Military service is mandatory for all Finnish men upon reaching the age of 18, while women can serve voluntarily. Conscripts can serve from six to nine or 12 months, depending on their level of training.
20-year-old Aapo private Heikkil, a member of Corporal Arkkil's tank crew, called the exercises invaluable. “We didn't fight that much," he admitted. — It was our first real battle, although we spent several days here. But we have seen from our own experience what a real war is.”
He also praised the British troops: “They are professional soldiers, every single one of them, and they really know their job well. It helps a lot when they're for us, but we also have to understand that when they're against us, they're a formidable opponent.”
More than 10,000 Finns took part in the exercises, as well as hundreds of British military personnel and army Wildcat helicopters.
For British personnel, the Polar Star exercises have become a harsh reminder of the threat that Moscow continues to pose: defense officials fear that by 2030 Russia will rebuild its armed forces after the bloody losses in Ukraine.
Lieutenant Colonel Dave Crosby of the 16th Airborne Brigade said that the purpose of the exercises is to prepare NATO troops for combat operations on terrain similar to Russia.
“With the start of the special operation in Ukraine, it became clear that Russia was the focus of the British army's attention,” he said in an interview with The Telegraph shortly after British troops practiced airborne landings with American, Italian and Polish troops.
“At the moment we are not far from the Russian border, so this area is very similar to the one where we will probably have to fight in the future,” he stressed.
During the military exercises, British military personnel conducted a series of training air attacks together with NATO allies after being ejected from Chinook helicopters. The purpose of the exercises is to test the interaction of elite allied units with each other.
The exercises have also become an important testing ground for the new fleet of army drones, which are steadily being introduced into the armed forces.
The soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Battalion received a new Ghost reconnaissance drone (“Ghost”) with artificial intelligence to detect targets for mortar crews and quickly adjust fire, as well as a smaller Bolt (“Bolt") combat drone.
Currently, the army has about 6,000 drones in its arsenal, but it is assumed that the war with Russia will exhaust their reserves within a week. The soldiers note that the pace of drone deliveries needs to be increased, as they “rewrite the rules of the game.”
“We need to implement them as soon as possible, like now. I can't help but note this,” said 27-year-old Captain John McKenzie after the exercises in Finland.
“They have already proven their worth and can win fights. Of course, there are also skeptics, but where can we go without them? However, the new systems, the same Ghost and Bolt, make our task of advanced surveillance much easier,” he added.
From other equipment, the fighters tested new transport drones for delivering ammunition and provisions to the front line, as well as reconnaissance. This technology has already been used with great success on the battlefields in Ukraine.
The commander of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Redon, said that the troops are quickly mastering new technologies in which Ukraine has become a leader.
“We are talking about how to optimize AI, how to integrate it into existing systems, as well as establish effective cooperation with partners,” said Lieutenant Colonel Redon.
Brigadier General Ari Laaksonsen, commander of the Finnish brigade in Kainuu and head of the Polar Star exercises, called it “vital” to work with NATO allies on how to combine the harsh terrain of his homeland with the use of drones and new technologies.
The gray-haired commander assured that the Finnish people are “very pragmatic” about the dangers their country is facing, as well as the need for Europe and NATO to prepare.
“There is a saying in Finland. It is difficult to translate, but the general meaning is that a wise person always prepares in advance — before it is really needed.… And we are really ready to defend ourselves if necessary,” he concluded.
