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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trump has tapped Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran and Fox News host, to be secretary of defense.</li><li>BI reviewed Hegseth's past statements for clues on how he might lead the Defense Department.</li></ul>US President-elect <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-white-house-staff-cabinet-picks-list-2024-11">Donald Trump</a> has tapped Pete Hegseth, a Fox &amp; Friends host and US Army National Guard veteran, to be secretary of defense.Hegseth is a combat veteran and conservative commentator who gained clout during Trump's first term and successfully <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-listened-fox-host-pete-hegesth-over-his-secretary-defense-2019-11">pushed for</a> pardons and rank reinstatement in three war crimes cases over the objections of top military officials. He has been skeptical of the US's support for the NATO alliance and an embattled <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-pentagon-pick-pete-hegseth-criticized-us-involvement-ukraine-aid-2024-11">Ukraine</a>, while advocating for full support for Israel.Trump announced Hegseth's nomination on Tuesday night, calling him a "warrior for the troops and country" and a "true believer in America First." His selection is a sign Trump is focused on purging the military's top ranks of purported "woke generals," along the lines of the external "warrior board" reviews first <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-draft-executive-order-would-create-board-to-purge-generals-7ebaa606?mod=national-security_news_article_pos3">reported</a> by The Wall Street Journal.Hegseth was considered for Veterans Affairs secretary during Trump's first term and faced pushback from veterans group leaders. This time is no different."Hegseth is undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history. And the most overtly political. Brace yourself, America," Paul Rieckhoff, the founder of Independent Veterans of America, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/PaulRieckhoff/status/1856502867126857911">said</a>.<div type="image" title="Pete Hegseth" height="2555" width="3600" msid="115272720" hostid="261" sizebytes="482454"></div>Hegseth is a Fox News fixture known for his military service and weighing in on culture war controversies. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan but has less leadership, national security, and Department of Defense experience than Trump's former defense secretaries."I confess I didn't know who he was until 20 minutes ago," Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on House Armed Services, told reporters Tuesday night. Adam Kinzinger, a former lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard and a Republican who left Congress after clashing with Trump, said the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/AdamKinzinger/status/1856491538920157477">nomination</a> is "the most hilariously predictably stupid thing."Hegseth was among a group of US National Guard members who had their orders<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/JimLaPorta/status/1856492437402947704"> to secure then President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration</a> revoked after the January 6 insurrection. Hegseth said on "The Shawn Ryan Show" he was dismissed because he was "deemed an extremist" over his tattoo of a Jerusalem cross; he also has a tattoo of a Christian motto that dates to the Crusades and has been adopted by the alt-right.When asked for comment, the Trump transition team referred Business Insider to Trump's announcement. Hegseth didn't respond to BI's request for comment on Wednesday.If Hegseth is confirmed, he'll come to the Pentagon at a perilous time for a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conflicts-and-tensions-the-next-president-could-face-2024-9">US military stretched thin by conflicts and tensions across the world</a>. Here's where he stands on some key issues.<h2 id="e801149c-517d-4369-944b-247efc37a121">Hegseth has criticized women serving in combat roles and diversity in the military</h2><div type="image" title="U.S. Army Spc. Sammantha Ohm assigned to 5th Squadron, 1st Calvary Regiment, Delta Co, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division pulls security on the M2HB .50-caliber machine gun during the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 24-02 exercise at Donnelly Training Area, Alaska, Feb. 17, 2024." height="4219" width="6329" msid="115272725" hostid="261" sizebytes="885108"></div>During a recent interview on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoN5ovwB8s4">"The Shawn Ryan Show" podcast</a>, he said women serving in combat roles hurt the military. "Everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat, that means casualties are worse," Hegseth said, adding that minority and white men can perform similar tasks that women can't. By allowing women to serve, "we've changed the standards in putting them there, which means you've changed the capability of that unit." <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-in-us-military-history-2019-2">All US military combat roles opened to women in 2015</a>.Hegseth is highly critical of "woke" diversity and equity policies. "The dumbest phrase on planet Earth in the military is our diversity is our strength," he said on "The Shawn Ryan Show," adding, "Any general that was involved, any general, admiral, whatever, that was involved in any of the DEI/woke shit has got to go."He has called for shifting away from diversity and inclusivity in the US military, whose highest ranks remain overwhelmingly male and white. Branches of the military face issues fulfilling recruitment goals, specifically with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/06/14/armys-recruiting-problem-male.html#:~:text=Since%202013%2C%20male%20enlistments%20have,around%2010%2C000%20recruits%20each%20year">lower numbers of white male recruits in recent years</a>.<h2 id="0522ec27-5fc0-47a0-81ea-2e4fe1dd158a">Hegseth is critical of NATO and has flip-flopped on Ukraine</h2><div type="image" title="A tank sitting on a barren grassy field fires with a cloudy grey sky in the background." height="5504" width="8046" msid="115272714" hostid="261" sizebytes="1688200"></div>Hegseth has echoed a growing opinion among Republicans that questions <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-pentagon-pick-pete-hegseth-criticized-us-involvement-ukraine-aid-2024-11">whether it's in the US's interest to support Ukraine's war of self-defense against Russia or the larger security of America's European allies</a>. He's also said Ukraine's war for its existence pales in comparison to the war on "woke" in America.In February 2022, Hegseth defended Trump's controversial comments describing Russian leader Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine as "savvy" and "genius," suggesting Trump was just attempting to "troll" American media. Throughout the war, Hegseth has shifted stances, calling Putin a "war criminal" and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxDe0KtJJio">criticizing Biden for not getting Ukraine military aid quickly enough</a>. He told Fox News in March 2022, "What's at stake is repelling an authoritarian who basically is saying 'I want the Soviet Union back, I want Ukraine back, I want Kyiv back.'" He has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-nato-views-threaten-key-to-alliances-strength-article-5-2024-2">criticized the NATO alliance</a>, saying the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-nato-frontline-countries-are-readying-for-war-with-russia-2024-3">US's European allies need to lead efforts to defend their borders</a>. In his recent book, "War on Warriors," Hegseth called some NATO allies "outdated, outgunned, invaded, and impotent." He wrote,"Why should America, the European 'emergency contact number' for the past century, listen to self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honor outdated and one-sided defense arrangements they no longer live up to?"<h2 id="71858f8f-1362-4561-81bc-a85b00383c38">He's a staunch supporter of Israel </h2><div type="image" title="Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2020." height="1500" width="2250" msid="115272721" hostid="261" sizebytes="198048"></div>Hegseth has repeatedly advocated for Israel, including in his coverage of the war in Gaza. He has supported <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-burns-through-key-missiles-needed-for-china-fight-2024-10">Israel striking back against Iran and its proxies</a> and pushed against calls for a cease-fire.He interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year, asking about Trump's support for Israel during his first term. And in November 2023, he criticized pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrating in Washington. In a 2016 interview, he said Israel wasn't "a historical land that can be dismissed," emphasizing <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-taps-fox-news-host-who-said-us-must-stand-by-strong-ally-israel-to-head-pentagon/">how important it is for the US to stand by Israel as its ally</a>. <h2 id="ccea315c-2018-4c38-94b7-711ee1d6d51a">Hegseth's stance on China is murky</h2>China could be a top priority for Hegseth if he's confirmed. The Pentagon has called China its "pacing challenge" and has raised alarms on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-china-missile-problem-getting-worse-2024-5">Beijing's meteoric military growth</a>. On "The Shawn Ryan Show," Hegseth said China was "building an army specifically dedicated to defeating" the US, pointing to how its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-and-japan-teaming-up-to-defeat-hypersonic-missiles-2024-5">hypersonic missiles</a> could take US aircraft carriers out quickly in a conflict as a major concern. <div type="image" title="Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong in formation exercise in the South China Sea in late October 2024." height="2907" width="4948" msid="115272712" hostid="261" sizebytes="1330486"></div>His comments on China's economic influence echo Trump's talking points. "They want to corner the market completely on the technological future. We can't even drive our cars without the stuff we need out of China these days. So China has a full spectrum long-term view of not just regional but global domination and we have our heads up our asses," he said on the podcast. If confirmed, Hegseth would lead the Defense Department at a pivotal moment in the Asia-Pacific region. The US has assessed that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-flags-tell-us-when-chinas-ready-to-invade-taiwan-2024-4">China wants its military ready to seize Taiwan by 2027</a>, and that US military forces need to be ready for a potential conflict with China by then.

How Trump's Army veteran pick for Pentagon chief, Fox & Friends' Pete Hegseth, sees the world

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ukraine's army chief said Kyiv invaded Kursk before Russia could launch a new attack from there.</li><li>Oleksandr Syrskyi told CNN the incursion forced Russia to redeploy forces and stopped its advances.</li></ul>Ukraine's army chief said Russia had planned to launch a new cross-border attack from Kursk, but Kyiv got there first.Ukraine caught Russia off guard by launching an incursion into Russia's Kursk region on August 6, grabbing hundreds of miles of territory in just a matter of days.Ukraine's Kursk incursion "reduced the threat of an enemy offensive," Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/05/europe/ukraine-army-chief-kursk-incursion-exclusive-intl/index.html">CNN</a>. "We prevented them from acting."Syrskyi made the statement from an undisclosed location near the front lines of the fighting.He <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-captured-hundreds-square-miles-russian-territory-general-2024-8">said</a> that in under a week, Ukrainian forces had captured about 386 square miles — almost the equivalent of what Russia has captured in Ukraine this year.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/u-vijni-nemaye-vidpustok-potribna-vchasna-logistika-ogoloshe-92661">said</a> last month that one of the operation's aims was to create a "buffer zone" to prevent further Russian attacks across the border.Syrskyi told CNN that the operation aimed to stop Russia from using Kursk as a springboard for a new offensive, and to force it into redeploying its military from other areas.According to Syrskyi, they have achieved these goals, forcing Russia to redeploy tens of thousands of soldiers — including airborne assault troops — to Kursk and stopping Russian advances in the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine."Over the last six days, the enemy hasn't advanced a single meter in the Pokrovsk direction," he said, adding that Ukrainian forces have reduced Russia's capacity to maneuver and send reinforcements."In other words, our strategy is working," he told CNN.Other goals being pursued, Syrskyi added, include preventing cross-border shelling of civilian objects, taking prisoners of war, and improving the morale of troops and the country.While Syrskyi said the offensive in Kursk had achieved some of its goals, it's unclear how long Ukraine can retain control of the territory it holds, and whether it can force Russia to redeploy enough of its troops away from the main 600-mile front line in eastern Ukraine.In an interview with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/zelenskyy-ukraine-russia-territory-seized-putin-kursk-rcna169280">NBC News</a> on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is planning to hold the Russian land indefinitely as part of its victory plan, which he said he will present to the country's international allies this month.According to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-september-5-2024">report</a> by the Institute for the Study of War think tank on Thursday, Russian offensive operations in eastern Ukraine are likely to conclude earlier than its military anticipates due in part to operational challenges caused by Ukraine's incursion into Kursk.

Ukraine's army chief says Russia planned to launch a new attack from Kursk, but he got there first

<ul class="summary-list"><li>US Army Rangers and Nuclear Disablement Teams trained this summer to neutralize enemy nuclear sites.</li><li>The exercise reflects rising tensions with nuclear-armed nations and those pursuing such weapons.</li></ul>Over the summer, soldiers from the Army's little-known Nuclear Disablement Team linked up with the elite <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-ranger-competition-determines-us-militarys-best-2-man-team-2023-3">75th Ranger Regiment</a> at a training event that offered insight into how the US military is thinking about taking out enemy underground nuclear facilities in the event of a conflict.The drill came as the US grapples with rising tensions with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-now-fastest-growing-nuclear-arsenal-in-the-world-report-2024-6">China</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-not-able-to-take-down-iran-nuclear-sites-own-2024-10">Iran</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-tells-united-nations-accelerate-nuclear-weapons-program-2024-11">North Korea</a>, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-menaced-west-nuclear-war-troops-ukraine-russia-nato-strike-2024-2">Russia</a>, three of which already possess nuclear weapons and one that is, as far as the US is concerned, a little too close for comfort.<h2 id="09f50434-2cc2-41e9-82da-664371144da4">Rangers taking down nuke sites</h2>For decades, taking down adversary nuclear facilities has been a concern for the US military. No one wants to think about a near-peer conflict because of the specter of nuclear war that such a conflict could bring, but militaries regularly prepare for a wide range of scenarios that might never happen.Ranger training to prosecute nuclear targets seems to signal a shift in their role. For decades, the mission to find and eliminate enemy nuclear facilities belonged to the secretive Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and its tier 1 special missions units. The Army's Delta Force was primarily tasked with finding ways to penetrate highly guarded nuclear facilities and neutralize nuclear warheads."The Unit [Delta Force] has been involved with the mission set. It is an extremely difficult task that incorporates a wide range of skill sets like CQB [close quarters battle], breaching, and CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear warfare]," a retired Delta Force operator told Business Insider."The fact that Rangers and SF [Army Special Forces] are getting involved in the mission set tells me that the military is getting ready for a fight where there might be several different nuclear sites that need to be secured," said the retired Delta Force operator, who talked on the condition of anonymity because of his ongoing work with the Department of Defense.The exercise in June saw <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/every-piece-gear-army-ranger-night-raid-bag-2023-5">Rangers</a> and Nuclear Disablement Team soldiers operating under simulated fire at a decommissioned pulse radiation facility.<div type="image" title="US Army Nuclear Disablement Team soldiers and Army Rangers moving out of a defunct facility." height="1365" width="2048" msid="115056615" hostid="261" sizebytes="142680"></div>"The highlight of the exercise was the integration of the NDTs and 75th Ranger Regiment teams," Army Maj. Aaron J. Heffelfinger, the team chief for Nuclear Disablement Team 1, said following the exercise, adding that the training "ensured that if we train together or respond to a real-world crisis in the future the teams are already familiar with each other's capabilities."Although the training was intended to simulate attacking an adversary nuclear facility overseas, recapturing a friendly nuclear facility captured by enemy forces or even terrorists at home is also a concern. There are a number of legal concerns surrounding a potential response in that particular nightmare scenario, but there are workarounds.The Army's Nuclear Disablement Teams, which handle weapons of mass destruction and related materials to deny their availability to adversaries, also work with federal agencies like the FBI as part of a task force trained and equipped to conduct nuclear forensics, and during the summer, the Army unit also worked with Green Berets from the 7th Special Forces Group on taking down nuclear facilities.<h2 id="a216d71f-b1b1-4c6b-8cfc-992649b9e2d0">A new kind of mission for the Rangers</h2>The 75th Ranger Regiment is the world's premier light infantry, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tell-the-us-militarys-most-elite-special-operators">special operations unit</a>. Comprised of three line infantry battalions, an intelligence battalion, and a special troops battalion, the 75th Ranger Regiment is America's answer to difficult situations that require raw force, numbers, and violence of action, the latter involving unrestricted speed, strength, surprise, and aggression.<div type="image" title="A US Army soldier in combat kit conducts operations next to a red light. The exact action is unclear." height="1151" width="2048" msid="115056614" hostid="261" sizebytes="56618"></div>Military commanders and planners have long recognized the value and effectiveness of the unit. In December 2020, the unit achieved a remarkable 7,000 days in continuous combat.Today, the 75th Ranger Regiment is a vastly different organization than it was 20 or 30 years ago. For years, the Rangers were limited to capturing airfields and pulling security for Delta Force. as they did during the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-delta-force-members-remember-somalia-black-hawk-down-mission-2021-8">Black Hawk Down incident</a> in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993.But the demands of the Global War on Terror across the force opened the way for the 75th Ranger Regiment to take on more missions. Rangers in Iraq and Afghanistan went after the same high-value targets as Delta Force and SEAL Team 6. And now, they have taken on another strategic mission set, responding to the nuclear threat.

US Army Rangers have been training for a different kind of fight: neutralizing enemy underground nuclear facilities

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia stands to lose 1.8 million troops if it takes four oblasts in Ukraine, the UK's army chief said.</li><li>Moscow has designated Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia as its own territory.</li></ul>Russia would likely take up to 1.8 million wounded and dead over five years to achieve its goal of fully capturing four major Ukrainian regions, said the new chief of the British Army.Gen. Sir Roly Walker said he'd based his estimation on the "current rate of attrition of dead and wounded" faced by Moscow's forces in Ukraine, according to UK media.He'd been answering questions on Sunday at the 2024 Land Warfare Conference run by the British think tank Royal United Services Institute."That puts them probably well north of 1.5 million people — casualties — to achieve that with untold billions of lost equipment," said Walker, per <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/ukraine-advance-will-cost-russia-over-15-million-men-says-new-head-of-army-mnb2f7gvc">The Times of London.</a>"If they carry on as they are, it would probably take the Russians five years to grind their way to their minimum objectives of the four oblasts," he added, referring to Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.All four regions are under partial Russian control and are in relative deadlock, serving as the war's eastern and southern fronts after Ukraine repelled the Kremlin's initial northern assault toward Kyiv and Kharkiv.Russian leader Vladimir Putin <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-declares-there-4-new-regions-russia-annexation-speech-2022-9">declared the four oblasts part of his nation's territory in September 2022</a>, and attaining full control of them has been one of Moscow's major war and negotiation objectives.Ukraine is adamant that it will not cede any of these territories, two of which — Donetsk and Luhansk — have for years been home to separatist factions.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://news.sky.com/story/russia-will-take-five-years-to-capture-four-ukrainian-regions-if-they-carry-on-as-they-are-uk-army-head-13184268">Per Sky News</a>, Walker emphasized that a drawn-out war would be devastating for both sides."There have got to be more things for Russia to worry about than losing the best part of 1.5 to 1.8 million people for a slice of Ukraine with the way the world is going," he said, per the outlet."So, the big if is if the Ukrainian armed forces can keep, sustain the defense that they have," he added.Russia has been largely silent on its war losses, but Western estimates put its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-losing-1000-soldiers-a-day-against-ukraine-report-war-2024-6#:~:text=It%20said%20Russia's%20total%20number,Ministry%20of%20Defence%20for%20comment.">casualty rate as high as 1,000 soldiers</a> wounded or killed daily.UK intelligence said <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/DefenceHQ/status/1796467954907037817">in May</a> that Moscow had lost upward of 500,000 troops in the war, later estimating that another <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-army-lost-70k-soldiers-ukraine-war-uk-defense-ministry/">70,000 soldiers were lost in the months after.</a>Meanwhile, Putin said in June that almost <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/06/15/putin-says-almost-700k-russian-troops-fighting-in-ukraine-a85419#:~:text=Russian%20President%20Vladimir%20Putin%20said,decorated%20participants%20from%20the%20offensive.">700,000 Russians</a> are still fighting in Ukraine.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/people/roly-walker">Walker</a>, a former SAS officer who eventually became director of special forces, took on his new role as Chief of the General Staff on June 15.On Sunday, he said the UK must be ready to go to war in three years, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c035d05je2jo">per the BBC.</a>The British military aims to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/07/23/britain-ready-war-three-years-army-chief-warns/">double its firepower by 2027 and triple its capacity by 2030.</a>Key to Walker's concern is that Russia could seek revenge on the UK for its support of Kyiv, regardless of how the war in Ukraine plays out."It doesn't matter how it ends. I think Russia will emerge from it probably weaker objectively, or absolutely, but still very, very dangerous and wanting some form of retribution for what we have done to help Ukraine," he said, per the BBC."The point here is when you think they are down, they will come roaring back to get their vengeance," he said, per Sky News.Analysts fear that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-can-sustain-major-losses-ukraine-2-more-years-analysts-2024-2">Russia can outlast Ukraine's defense</a> through its aggressive recruitment drives and a defense manufacturing industry that's kicked into overdrive.Russia has poured <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-approves-big-military-spending-hikes-russias-budget-2023-11-27/">40% of national spending</a> into defense and security, essentially putting its economy on a war footing.

Russia would lose up to 1.8 million troops and take 5 years to capture the 4 Ukrainian regions it wants: UK army chief

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Small drones dominate Ukraine's battlefield, but their advantage won't last, France's army chief said.</li><li>Small, relatively cheap drones have been hugely successful weapons in the war so far.</li></ul>Small aerial drones have dominated the battlefield in Ukraine, but according to French Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pierre Schill, they could soon lose their combat advantage.Speaking at the Eurosatory defense show in Paris on June 19, Schill said that their advantage represented merely "a moment in history," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2024/06/19/small-drones-will-soon-lose-combat-advantage-french-army-chief-says/">Defense News</a> reported."The life of impunity of small, very simple drones over the battlefield is a snapshot in time," Schill said."Right now it's being exploited, that's clear, and we have to protect ourselves. Today, the sword, in the sense of the aerial drone, is powerful, more powerful than the shield. The shield is going to grow," he added.<div type="image" title="The head of the French Army, General d'armee Pierre Schill inspects the officer cadets during Commissioning Course No. 232 Sovereign's Parade, at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, southwest of London on April 12, 2024, to mark the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale." height="3744" width="5580" msid="111364954" hostid="261"></div><h2 id="92c5bc36-569f-417c-b133-1b2046994f21">The use of drones will likely fluctuate</h2>Former British Army officer Christopher Lincoln-Jones told Business Insider that the use of small drones in warfare would likely "ebb and flow."He said: "What will happen is that, as artificial intelligence becomes better and better and the senses become better, medium-sized drones will dominate rather than the small ones.""Mini drones are limited by the fact that battery technology is not good enough for them yet. And although they can carry a small charge or weapon, they're not really good against military targets," Lincoln-Jones added.Greg Bagwell, the UK Royal Air Force's former Deputy Commander, told BI "there is some truth" to Schill's comments about the future of small drones in battle."I think to say it's nearly had its day, and it's all over is probably a slight exaggeration. But I think it will get harder for them to operate as people now get wise to this threat. We'll start to see the counters maybe begin to take a higher position," he said.<h2 id="a11ea6ca-f69a-4247-8160-212e162d2917">Small drones are at the forefront of the war in Ukraine</h2>Small drones, particularly first-person view drones (FPVs), have been a trademark of Russia's war in Ukraine, with both sides weaponizing them against each other.FPV drones have had huge success on the battlefield so far, proving to be cheaper and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/UKRAINE-CRISIS/DRONES/dwpkeyjwkpm/">more accurate than most artillery</a> as they can be guided directly to their target.A <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="color-link" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/04/09/drones-russia-tanks-ukraine-war-fpv-artillery/">NATO official told Foreign Policy magazine</a> in April that more than two-thirds of the Russian tanks that had been destroyed by Ukraine in recent months had been targeted with FPVs.Ukraine has also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/one-drone-liutyi-behind-majority-ukraine-attacks-russia-oil-facilities-2024-5">pounded Russian oil refineries</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-mass-attack-russian-airbase-70-drones-budanov-2024-6">airbases with drones</a> as part of a widespread campaign to disrupt Russian military supplies and hamper the Russian air force.<h2 id="7279dc38-4a79-447d-9442-f4b246c9aaa8">Drone countermeasures are advancing</h2>But Lincoln-Jones and Bagwell both echoed Gen. Schill's warnings that drone countermeasures are advancing and would increasingly render small drones less effective."There will be all sorts of techniques being used to jam the signals, the video, or the GPS signal," Bagwell said.Schill said that electronic warfare — which uses the electromagnetic spectrum, including signals like radio, infrared, or radar, to disrupt an enemy's ability to use those signals itself — was already neutralizing 75% of drones deployed in Ukraine."Unless you can encrypt and use direct line of sight to control your drone, you're very vulnerable to nearly every electronic warfare system," Lincoln-Jones said. "You just need to know what frequency the drone is operating on from the point of view of its commands."Nevertheless, current electronic warfare systems being used to defend against drone attacks have their limits. The use of such systems risks <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-using-electronic-warfare-ukraine-against-drones-means-killing-internet-2024-1">interfering with other technology,</a> such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/the-drones-are-small-the-arms-race-may-not-be-heres-how-the-us-can-win/">radios and cellphones</a> that are in the drone's vicinity.<h2 id="a360580b-d1fa-48bf-af42-931204a57ad9">Drones remain key to Ukraine's military strategy</h2>Drone production continues to surge in Ukraine despite the increasing number of defense systems employed against the technology. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/02/1/7439866/">More than 200 companies</a> now produce aerial drones in the country, and workers were producing around <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/02/16/as-the-ukrainians-fling-50000-drones-a-month-at-the-russians-the-russians-cant-get-their-drone-jammers-to-work/">50,000 FPVs a month</a> by December, Forbes reported.Both sides are also pumping money into developing AI-powered drones that can bypass electronic warfare systems.This year, Ukraine also became one of the first countries ever to create a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/pidpisav-ukaz-yakij-rozpochinaye-stvorennya-okremogo-rodu-si-88817">separate branch of its military</a> dedicated to drone warfare.A recent report by the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukraines-innovative-drone-industry-helps-counter-putins-war-machine/">Atlantic Council</a> said that Ukraine's drone strategy would now likely "continue to focus on flexibility, innovation, and the daily challenge of maintaining a technological advantage over Russia."Gen. Schill declined an interview with BI.

France's army chief says small drones will lose their battlefield advantage. But Ukraine likely won't be changing tack anytime soon.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia's response to Ukraine's invasion of Kursk has been a bit of a mess.</li><li>The Kremlin didn't mount a large military response and instead called on units unlikely to mix well.</li></ul>Russia's jumbled response to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kursk-battle-ukraine-russia-war-strategy-2024-8">Ukraine's invasion of its Kursk region</a> indicates that its military is still suffering from a critical weakness, warfare experts told Business Insider.Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk on August 6 and by Tuesday had taken almost 500 square miles of territory, according to the country's army chief. That's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-captured-more-territory-kursk-than-russia-seized-ukraine-year-2024-8">more territory than Russia has managed to take in Ukraine this year</a>.The development has been humiliating for Russia, according to George Barros, a Russia analyst at Washington DC-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War.He said Russia's response only compounds that, highlighting a longstanding issue with command and control with which Russia has struggled.<h2 id="fe5e8c0e-cf3f-4940-bc02-91699388dfd3">Bungling the Kursk response</h2>Russia's late response to Ukraine's attack was to put the FSB — Russia's primary security and intelligence agency — in charge of a host of other groups.The move indicates Russia has a "very unorthodox, untested command and control structure that's going to be responding to this," Barros said. Russia has for a long time had issues with command and control, which is key to directing military, security, and emergency response forces effectively.<div type="image" title="The back view of a figure in a green camouflage jacket and helmet looking at a damaged apartment building" height="1334" width="2000" msid="112922399" hostid="261" sizebytes="437724"></div>He noted that even in its invasion of Ukraine, which was planned in advance and where its military forces are organized in "a very conventional and orthodox way," Russia's command and control has been "horrific and very ineffective."Russia has faced criticized for its poor command and control structures, which often see it refuse to delegate responsibility like Western armies do, resulting in a slow and immobile force.The problem has been on display throughout the war in Ukraine, where the Russians have been slow to react to combat developments and even <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/himars-ukraine-perfect-weapon-exploit-russia-bad-logistics-expert-2022-7">brought many commanders close to the fighting, where they were then killed</a>.Warfare experts have repeatedly <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-ill-fated-invasion-ukraine-lessons-modern-warfare">pointed</a> to critical command and control problems as to why Russia's ground forces did not make good progress at the beginning of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-did-russia-invade-ukraine-putin-politics-motive-2023-6">its invasion</a>.And now, in Kursk, Barros said, "with this even more convoluted situation that they're going into, I have remained very skeptical of the Russian's ability to effectively marshal all these disparate forces. And I think it bodes poorly for the effectiveness of the Russian response.'"Rajan Menon, a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, said Ukraine has been able to take advantage of Russia's shortcomings by fighting differently."The Russians have a very centralized conception of warfare," he said, adding that "the Ukrainians have delegated a lot of authority to local commanders, and they have highly mobile troops operating on multiple fronts."And "it's been a very difficult thing for the Russians to figure it out because they didn't expect anything like this," he said.While it's unclear how this complex scenario will end, Menon said he thinks "the key point to bear in mind is the very fact that this could have happened at all. This is astonishing."<h2 id="95bb003d-9722-4ece-9a06-eb2b5c352eb8">A slow and complicated reaction</h2>Reports have suggested Russia's high command <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kursk-ukraine-exploited-russias-dysfunctional-military-command-2024-8">ignored intelligence </a>about a Ukrainian troop buildup. Ukrainian troops said they were <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-soldier-russia-troops-kursk-kids-mandatory-service-wsj-2024-8">able to enter Kursk easily</a>, and warfare experts said Ukraine was able to<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kursk-ukraine-exploited-russias-dysfunctional-military-command-2024-8"> take advantage of dysfunction in Russian military leadership</a>.<div type="image" title="A still from a video shows a soldier on the ground supporting another soldier standing on a ridge in the side of a building holding a Ukrainian flag in the air" height="1000" width="2000" msid="112922400" hostid="261" sizebytes="37236"></div>Barros noted that Russia's response "did not happen right away. It took many days."That early reaction was small and involved inexperienced troops, which did little to slow Ukraine down. Russian President Vladimir Putin took days to announce a military response.Menon said Putin appeared to have been "caught completely flatfooted." He described Russia's response as "some combination of arrogance and incompetence rolled into one."That eventual response was the FSB being put in charge, with involvement from Rosgvardia (Russia's national guard), some troops redeployed from Ukraine, conscripts, and special forces troops.ISW said in an update on August 20 that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-struggling-ukraine-kursk-chaotic-command-isw-military-invasion-2024-8">Russia's response to the invasion of Kursk was being hampered</a> because of "complex and overlapping responsibilities and the seemingly ever-growing list of actors the Kremlin has tasked with responding to the Ukrainian incursion."<div type="image" title="A destroyed tank on top of mud and a green field under a blue cloudy sky" height="1333" width="2000" msid="112922403" hostid="261" sizebytes="519770"></div>Barros said that putting the FSB in charge was "pretty surprising" and said it would make more sense for the army to be in charge.He said the FSB "doesn't have it in its mandate, nor does it have the experience of creating a joint headquarters for responding to a large-scale adversary combined arms operation."Trying to get so many different groups to work together will be a challenge for it, Barros said. He said that the FSB will likely have "a very challenging time working out the command and control for all of the disparate different cats and dogs that are being cobbled together to respond to the Ukrainian incursion."Barros said that the different groups don't all have a history "in dealing with combined arms operations. They don't have a history of working together at scale in this sort of context." He added that "many of them don't have it in their capabilities or mission to be able to do the kind of attack that the Ukrainians are putting forward."Even with Russia's response in action, Ukraine's troops are still advancing into Kursk, although at a much slower rate as resistance builds, even amid Russia's poor reaction.<h2 id="de7f9b00-b2dc-4feb-9f99-332f8a489daf">Russia is downplaying</h2>Putin, meanwhile, is downplaying Ukraine's invasion, describing it as a terrorist attack.<div type="image" title="Four men in suits sit around the end of a rectangular black table with a cream wall, a coat of arms, and the Russian flag behind them" height="1333" width="2000" msid="112922404" hostid="261" sizebytes="93812"></div>Barros said that Putin has not taken a stronger step, like declaring martial law, as he wants to minimize political risk to himself. Throughout Putin's invasion, which began in February 2022, Putin has repeatedly made "militarily stupid" decisions for political reasons, he said.He argued that taking stronger action "would do great damage to Putin's decades-long strategic effort to basically rebuild Russia's prestige, put forward the narrative that under Putin's leadership, Russia has become sort of another great world power."Instead, he is downplaying it instead of "admitting that this is the "first foreign military operation within Russian soil since World War II," an obviously serious development.Putin wanted to "maintain the desired PR optics of everything's fine, everything's under control, we're not going to mobilize the population," Barros said.And that has been a common trend. Russia has not conducted a large-scale mobilization since late 2022, and that round was met with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russians-fleeing-putin-ukraine-mobilization-face-traffic-expensive-flights-prison-2022-9">thousands of young Russians fleeing the country</a>. The UK Ministry of Defence said last year that the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-no-big-troop-mobilization-before-putin-election-uk-intel-2023-10">Kremlin was aware such a move is unpopular</a> and could have political consequences.Despite the mess in Kursk, Russia is still pushing forward and gaining territory in Ukraine's east. For now, it has been reluctant to pull many troops from those areas.

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