Following Ukraine's example? Putin creates his own unmanned systems forces
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
A separate branch of the unmanned systems forces will now officially be established in the Russian Federation, according to a statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During a meeting on the new state armament program, the Russian President stated that Russia is creating the unmanned systems forces as a separate branch of the military.
He noted that the new state program should ensure the development of a universal air defense system.
In addition, he claimed that since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian air defense forces have allegedly destroyed over 80,000 aerial targets.
Creation of Unmanned Systems Forces in Ukraine
In February of last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the Cabinet of Ministers and the General Staff to work on establishing Unmanned Systems Forces as a separate branch within the structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defense explained that the creation of a separate branch of the military would allow for the full use of the advantages offered by unmanned systems. New organizational capabilities would not only make it possible to create specialized positions for working with drones, but also to accumulate and assess the experience of using them.
On June 3, President Zelenskyy appointed Robert "Madyar" Brovdi as the Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF).
Following his appointment, "Madyar" announced a large-scale reform to be implemented within the next 100 days. In particular, he aims to ensure technological superiority on the battlefield and to increase the effectiveness of the USF.
Russia is not the first to attempt to adopt Ukraine’s approach. Poland had earlier decided to establish unmanned forces as well.
