Report

Mass Precision Strike: designing UAV complexes for land forces

This report from UK think tank RUSI examines how UAVs offer the most utility to land forces.

This paper addresses the question of what components are necessary for land forces to field a UAV complex that can deliver precision effects en masse to maximise the efficiency of exchange with an enemy.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to the extensive employment of UAVs to deliver precision effects at scale. Militaries observing the conflict are assessing how they can integrate these capabilities into their own forces and mitigate the threat from them.

This paper is the first in a series. It examines how UAVs offer the most utility to land forces; subsequent papers will consider counter-UAV methodologies and their role across the joint force. There are six critical conclusions that can be drawn from the present paper.