“My former unit would not last 48 hours out there.”
The arrogant West is not ready for drone warfare
BY JP LINDSLEY
“My former unit would not last 48 hours out there.”
That’s what a US Special Forces veteran said after seeing Ukraine’s front lines.
Eighteen months later, dozens more ex-soldiers echo the same DIRE warning: The West is NOT ready.
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Western militaries—trained for Iraq, Afghanistan, & “traditional” wars—are unprepared for the drone swarm battlefields of Ukraine. In their arrogance, they think Ukraine’s situation is something they will never have to face.
The warning comes from American Deborah Fairlamb in a Henry Jackson Society report, “European Defense Autonomy: Identifying Key Companies & Products to Replace U.S. Capabilities” by @DVKirichenko and @mykkuzmin. Kyiv-based Fairlamb is co-founder of @greenflagvc, funding Ukrainian mil-tech.
The awareness gap is deadly. U.S. veterans who’ve seen Ukraine say Western armies don’t understand:
⦿ drone swarms: land, air, sea
⦿ electronic warfare everywhere
⦿ battlefield adaptation in days, not years
Meanwhile, Western defense procurement offices cling to 20th-century habits.
Arguments in Washington & Brussels often sound like this:
➡️ “Traditional defense systems are superior.”
➡️ “We won’t fight that way.”
Both are illusions. Russia & China will fight with unmanned systems—and in vast numbers.
This isn’t just about Ukraine. The US demands Europe must carry more weight.
That means:
—closing capability gaps
—integrating drones & counter-drone tech
—fusing old and new systems fast
To do so, Europe must learn from ‘Lab Ukraine,’ while also supporting Ukraine.
The report reviewed by Fairlamb ends with 11 clear policy recommendations. Its audience: ministries of defense, parliaments, and general staffs across Europe. Its urgency: Every lesson comes from blood on Ukraine’s fields. China is watching. Are we?
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