Over 30 drones hit dozens of targets: how the Ukrainian military “defeated” two NATO battalions

Last year, during NATO military exercises in Estonia, Ukrainian fighters “defeated” two battalions of the Alliance with the help of drones.

This is stated in the Wall Street Journal article, quoted by Babel.

The exercises, which took place in the spring of 2025, involved 12 NATO member countries and more than 16,000 soldiers, who were joined by Ukrainian unmanned systems specialists, including military personnel seconded from the front.

For example, during one of the exercises, a NATO battle group of thousands was supposed to launch an offensive. However, during the attack, they failed to take into account that drones made it easier to track targets on the battlefield.

In particular, a Ukrainian team of approximately ten people, which was a hypothetical opponent, used the Delta system to collect intelligence, identify targets, and coordinate attacks in real time.

In half a day, the Ukrainian military managed to destroy 17 units of armored vehicles and carry out another 30 strikes on other targets.

The head of the Estonian-Ukrainian unit, Aivar Hanniotti, noted that they used more than 30 drones over an area of 10 sq. km against the NATO group.

“We found the vehicles and mechanized units quite easily, and we managed to destroy them quite quickly with the help of strike drones,” he said.

In the end, the Ukrainian-Estonian forces destroyed the nominal enemy, so “within the framework of the exercises, they could no longer actually continue the fight.”

Hanniotti stressed that the results for the Alliance were “terrible.” At the same time, experts add that NATO must change tactics, speed up decision-making and improve coordination between units.

Estonia has already begun adapting its military to “drone warfare,” but some countries still use outdated approaches.

Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , X , Telegram , and Instagram.