Dutch armed forces recruiting 1,200 drone specialists; First reported for duty today
The first of 1,200 drone specialists started working at the Dutch Armed Forces on Wednesday. These soldiers will be trained to fight with drones and protect themselves and their comrades against enemy drones, AD reports.
The Dutch Armed Forces can no longer ignore the figures coming from Ukraine, Brigadier General Joland Dubbeldam, who was tasked with preparing the Dutch army for a new way of fighting, told AD. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, 80 percent of the losses were caused by artillery shells. Now four out of five soldiers are fatally struck by drones, he said. Every hour, 80 Russian soldiers are killed by drones in Ukraine.
Drones create many unprecedented possibilities, Dubbeldam told the newspaper. Everything is suddenly visible. It is much more complicated to try to hide troop movements. Drones also allow for fighting at a much greater distance. “And thus keeps the immediate danger from their own people for as long as possible.”
Dutch soldiers have been experimenting with drones for about five years, but things are now getting really serious. The first drone specialist reported for duty today. Within two years, the army wants to increase that number to 1,200 soldiers capable of fighting with drones and protecting themselves against enemy devices.
The drone soldiers won’t form a separate unit within the army, but are distributed among the existing battalions. The intention is to have a drone specialist in every combat unit deployed to the front. All soldiers will also receive drone training so that they can operate drones themselves if the situation calls for it.
In addition to training to physically use the drones and keep up with the constantly changing technology, the drone specialists also undergo special training on the moral and ethical aspects of this method of waging war. Drone operators see close-up images of the misery their guns inflict on their opponents, unlike in typical warfare. “We really need to prepare our people well for that,” Dubbeldam said.
