According to The Atlantic of 20 August, Ukrainian surroundings of erstwhile Minister Mikhail Fedorov were to prepare Operation M&Ms: up to 1,000 autonomous drones each night against Moscow Airport. Kiev denies it, and the plan was stopped. For Poland the conclusion is clear: the drone war enters an industrial scale.
Plan not confirmed, problem very real
By The Atlantic publication On 20 August, in Ukraine, an operation "M&Ms" was considered, that is, sending up to 1000 inexpensive drones all night to Moscow airports. As reported by Defence24, the task was to be created in the surroundings of erstwhile Minister Mikhail Fedorov and presume the usage of autonomous navigation supported by artificial intelligence.
We should be honest. This is not officially confirmed. "The Atlantic" cites 2 anonymous sources, and a typical of the Office of the president of Ukraine called this communicative nonsense. Nevertheless, the very description of the plan shows the direction in which the war is going: inexpensive unmanned systems are expected to overload the defence, logistics and psyche of the opponent, not just destruct individual targets.
Not an airport, but a state function
The "M&Ms" was to be different from the classical attack on the runway or terminal. The goal was to make flights to Moscow risky adequate for airlines to quit average traffic. The drone doesn't gotta destruct the airport to halt the launch and landing. Just a credible hazard of an armed device close the approach.
This is an crucial lesson for Poland too. Modern war is increasingly hitting the state's function: transport, energy, communications, trust in procedures. Russia has been applying hybrid force to our part of Europe for years and is now experiencing the logic of disrupting the average life of the capital. DN has already written that Ukrainian drones over Moscow became a constant component of the force on the Kremlin. The scale described by The Atlantic would have been a higher level.
Autonomy, cheapness and mass
The study shows that drones were to usage cameras comparing the image to previously uploaded maps and mention points. specified a strategy limits the dependence on the radio link that can be disrupted. In practice, this means a weapon simpler than an airplane, cheaper than a maneuvering missile, and harder to halt erstwhile it appears massively.
Defence24 besides recalls that Russian airports are already closed due to the danger of unmanned workers. Associated Press, citing the Russian Ministry of Defence, reported in August that Russia claimed the demolition of 822 Ukrainian drones 1 night, and the mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobian spoke of about 600 machines flying towards the capital. These are the numbers of the Russian side, so they require caution. However, they show the degree to which Moscow itself communicates to the public.
For Warsaw, this is not a technological curiosity. Poland needs to make recognition, radio-electronic combat, short-range anti-aircraft defence and the production of inexpensive drone control measures. Whoever responds to a multi-thousand-dollar drone for hundreds of thousands will lose the economical bill.
Lesson for Polish Security
Ukraine has shown from the start of the war that a state defending itself against a larger aggressor must think industrially and customly. Starlink, recognition, improvised workshops, private technology companies, and fast improvements from the front changed the way they fought. DN has already described why Satellite communications became a question of endurance in the battlefield for Ukraine.
Poland should draw hard conclusions from this lesson, without romanticizing war and without giving in to technological delight. Autonomous systems on the battlefield will be increasingly common. Procedures, law, manufacture and supplies are needed. Political decisions are besides needed, which treat safety as the primary task of the state and not as a decoration for the conference.
If “M&Ms” was just a plan, it inactive speaks a lot about the future. If akin operations always begin, they will show even more. Poland has time to prepare its own capabilities and its own resilience. He's not allowed to sleep due to the fact that the drone war doesn't ask for the comfort of politicians or the pace of authoritative procedures.
Source: Defence24, The Atlantic, Associated Press.
Source: Defence24
