Ukraine did in a year what UK should have already done, warns military analyst

Ukraine has done in a year what the UK planned to do five years ago in terms of advancements in warfare, according to a top military analyst.

Air Marshal (Retired) Ed Stringer, has warned that the UK is at risk of falling behind when it comes to advancements in drone technology and artificial intelligence.

The former Director of Operations for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) also advised that the British Government needs to learn lessons from Ukraine and how it is conducting warfare against the invading Russian army.

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Mr Stringer said: "If you look at what Ukraine has done, which admittingly as the result of the necessity of a war of national survival, demonstrates that if the will is there then you can move very quickly.

"So, all the things we were writing about five years ago, the Ukrainians have done, and done within a year.

"If you were to play Top Trumps and look at the big bits of equipment both services have, then the British military still looks like the superior force with aircraft carriers and F-35 jets.

"But if you look at how all the equipment is used, and what they have done with commercial space, what they have done to use drones, what they've done to link what would now be a very modern intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance within that target acquisition, which is what you're seeing every day now in Ukraine, then their way of operating is a step ahead of where we are at the moment."

"So we're in the position of, really I would argue, having to look long and hard at what Ukraine's done and learn lessons from them," he added.

His comments echo those made earlier this year by MP Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the Defence Select Committee, who said Britain must invest more in its land warfare capabilities, having seen how more traditional methods of fighting were being used by Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the conflict, Ukraine's use of drone warfare has been of interest to military experts.

Doctor Ulrike Franke, an expert in military technology described the use of drones in Ukraine as a race between the advancements in drone technology and counter-drone tactics.