Finland must draw up a drone strategy, says the Finnish Defence Forces’ research director, Engineer Colonel Jyri Kosola.
In an interview with Yle, Kosola pointed to the crucial role played by small, unmanned aircraft in the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts.
He said that drones have caused up to half of military casualties in the Ukraine war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion two and a half years ago.
According to Kosola, the development of military technology during the Ukraine war has been as rapid as during the Second World War.
At the forefront of development now are small, inexpensive drones and robots, whose development has drastically accelerated since the war began in early 2022.
In Kosola’s view, the development of machines and artificial intelligence could in theory make war "more humane" and pinpointed so as to avoid civilian casualties and material destruction.
However, he that unfortunately there are no signs of that in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, with their massive death tolls and destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure.
MPs working on strategy
Finland should define how it would use such devices in its response to a crisis situation and what technologies the FDF should have in its possession in advance, argued Kosola.
Drone production should begin in peacetime "at a small volume," he said. "Then, if a crisis comes, we step on the accelerator."
Kosola noted that Finnish MPs have begun working on a national drone strategy, adding that he hopes that it will become reality "in the near future".
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