A Modern Trace Italienne: Rethinking Rear-Area Defense Against Drones

Modern War Institute | Antonio Salinas

Inexpensive long-range drones deployed across Ukraine, Russia, and the Middle East are dismantling the traditional sanctuary of rear military bases and command hubs. Precision strikes on once-secure airbases demonstrate how uncrewed aerial capabilities rapidly neutralize deep rear infrastructure, mirroring the historical shock of gunpowder cannons in Renaissance Europe.

In February 1495, French King Charles VIII utilized horse-drawn bronze artillery to destroy the stone fortress of Monte San Giovanni Campano within eight hours. Traditional defenses failed completely. Today, militaries must abandon reliance on static perimeter walls and unhardened rear installations to survive persistent drone-enabled reconnaissance and fires. Combat power now requires deep defensive architectures featuring dispersal, hardening, interlocking kinetic or electronic fires, and active counter-strike systems. To counter cheap aerial loitering munitions, armed forces must create a modern "trace américaine" designed around multi-layered resilience. Without structural architectural adaptation, vital staging grounds will remain highly vulnerable to low-cost strikes.

Comment

The proliferation of low-cost uncrewed aerial systems challenges traditional rear-area defence doctrine by reducing the security afforded by geographical distance. Forward operating locations supporting the US Air Force Agile Combat Employment concept can no longer depend on dispersal or passive perimeter security alone. The historical experience of early gunpowder artillery illustrates how advances in offensive technology can undermine established defensive assumptions.

Effective base defence requires layered counter-UAS capabilities combining kinetic interception, electronic warfare, hardened infrastructure and resilient command networks. Dispersal must also account for persistent aerial surveillance, which can expose operational patterns and facilitate subsequent strikes. Integrating these measures into Agile Combat Employment planning is essential to preserving combat power across dispersed locations.

Strategic Question for Discussion

Which presents the greater operational obstacle to implementing the US Air Force Agile Combat Employment concept under persistent drone threats: accelerating sensor-to-shooter kill chains or the logistical burden of hardening dispersed forward sites?

The logistical burden of hardening dispersed sites presents a significant constraint. Electronic warfare and point-defence systems can reduce the effectiveness of incoming drones, but they cannot guarantee protection against persistent surveillance and repeated attacks. Constructing hardened shelters, sustaining counter-UAS systems and maintaining dispersed supply networks also place substantial demands on engineering and logistics units. The central challenge is therefore to balance physical protection, active defence and rapid recovery without undermining the operational flexibility that Agile Combat Employment seeks to achieve.

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