Intelligence Official: UAVs Have Revolutionized the Battlefield

After more than four years of fighting in Ukraine, Zvi Magen, former Israeli ambassador to Ukraine and Russia and a member of the intelligence community, is convinced that the main lesson Israel must learn is not only tactical or strategic, but concerns the revolution that has taken place on the battlefield itself.

"I call it the 'UAV war'," Magen noted in an interview with C14, explaining that unmanned aerial vehicles have changed the rules of the game and become one of the key deciding factors in modern wars.

Initially, Magen asked to place the conflict in its precise proportions: "This is a war of Europe against Russia," he clarified, and not a confrontation in which Ukraine stands alone. European countries have stood behind Kyiv since the beginning of the fighting; they have armed, trained, and supplied it with advanced combat systems. Therefore, Ukraine's achievements must also be examined against the backdrop of broad Western support.

How Ukraine Disrupted the Russian War Machine

According to him, the ability to strike a power like Russia using UAVs is one of Ukraine's most notable achievements. "It is a means of warfare that has deprived the Russians of the ability to maneuver," he noted. Instead of armored columns advancing rapidly deep into the territory, the UAVs forced them to slow down, hide, and remain attached to their positions. At the same time, both sides use UAVs for precise deep strikes against energy infrastructure, strategic targets, and defense industries.

Magen explained that although the Ukrainians have developed various defense methods, including nets and protective measures fitted onto vehicles and combat equipment, according to him, there is still "nothing effective against this."

He claims that the advantage today lies with those who are able to operate UAVs in large quantities. "Those who use... and sometimes in masses, in all kinds of 'swarms', succeed," he said. In his estimation, this is exactly why UAVs have become a tool capable of changing the balance of power even against much larger and stronger armies.

Magen argued that this is also the direction in which future wars are developing, and explained that the main impact is on the ability to carry out broad ground maneuvers using armored forces, a concept that armies have relied on for decades: "It is precisely the UAVs that know how to stop this."

Despite the worrying picture, Magen believes that the situation will not remain this way forever: "At the moment, I cannot recommend something that neutralizes UAVs. No one can," and he even estimated that Israel would be a pioneer in the field: "I have a suspicion that Israelis will also develop the solution before others, and then it will be necessary to move on to other or previous methods."