Mick Ryan
The battlefields of Ukraine have seen the return of large-scale, high tempo operations. This has been accompanied by higher casualties, higher use of munitions, and greater destruction of military equipment and civil infrastructure than at any time since the Second World War.
Ukrainian industry representatives spend time at the front to collect insights direct from soldiers.
The war has had a profound impact on how both sides learn and adapt their warfighting concepts, how they train and organise forces, and how they mobilise national resources. Learning and adaptation started slowly but has gained pace, with many peacetime military organisations and government officials finding it difficult to grasp, let alone replicate.
This accelerating learning and adaptation cycle may be the most transformative development to emerge from the war. While individual technologies such as drones are changing the character of warfare, the implications of new and proliferating ways of learning and adapting have global application.
There are several notable developments in Ukrainian adaptation in the past year. Tech companies and military frontline units can now communicate directly with each other to speed up the implementation of lessons into new generations of equipment and munitions. The counter-drone battle is accelerating with the development of Ukraine’s “Drone Wall”, which incorporates sophisticated new drone interceptors that are cheaper to produce than the Russian drones they destroy. We have also seen the deployment of next-generation drone warfare, featuring drones carrying other drones.
Russian military capacity to learn and adapt has improved significantly during the war. It has “learned to learn” and has sped up its adaptation cycle across many aspects of military affairs. The Russians are close observers of Ukrainian operations, and they quickly copy Ukrainian methods that they believe work. Recent Russian adaptations include improvements to their drone attack tactics and technology, and improved infiltration tactics on the ground. First-Person View drones and next-generation drone jammers are now in widespread use in the Russian army, and it has also adapted its strategic force generation and personnel recruitment processes.
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